


Latebra Adamare Adrideo

by Pi (Rhea)



Category: Gundam Wing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-23
Updated: 2011-11-23
Packaged: 2017-10-26 11:15:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 33,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/282405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhea/pseuds/Pi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>the long 1x2 fic written 2006 unbetaed</p>
            </blockquote>





	Latebra Adamare Adrideo

Prologue

Duo stuck the final item in his back pack before slinging it over his shoulder and testing out the weight, he’d carried heavier before. Then he picked up the lunch box, courtesy of his foster mother. She said she would only do this once, for the rest of the time he spent here he would be making his own lunches till the school cafeteria was remodeled. At least it was one thing less for him to worry about today. Today was his first day at his new school.

About a month ago his previous foster mother had been diagnosed with cancer. She could no longer take care of him and his foster brother Solo. CPS had tried to make sure the two boys went on to the same homes together, but just hadn’t been able to swing it. Duo had had many siblings and foster parents in his day, but buy far Helen and Solo and their next door neighbor who asked them to call him “Father” rather then ‘Mr.’ Maxwell. The past four years had probably been the best of all of his time in foster care, but now he was somewhere new.

Duo didn’t really mind moving around. At first he’d hated it. He had always been lonely, unable to make friends and approach other children, a real introvert, but then, one day epiphany struck. That day to be exactly was when he first met Solo. He had realized then that the key to getting along in the world and meeting people, having friends, and getting out there, was to be happy. Duo picked it up real fast. In less then two weeks his personality had completely turned around. This didn’t mean he still wasn’t subjected to spasms of his initial introverted shyness, but still he was more and more friendly, goofy, never seen without a grin and a cheer, more himself he decided.

The bus picked Duo up exactly on the dot; he was going to a private school so he guessed they had to be on time, if parents paid that much just to have their children go there. Duo had never had a lot of money personally, sometimes one family he was placed with was better off then another, but typically they were just moderately well to do people who wanted to know what it was like to have a child. Duo had gotten used to molding in with new people and being flexible.

Duo sat alone for the first half of the ride. He lived pretty far away from school so he wasn’t surprised, not many people lived way out where he did, or at least they didn’t go to his school. But slowly the bus filled, girls and boys filing on and flipping open books or leaning across the isle to talk with someone. As more people arrived the volume level went up. Duo wished he had brought something to do, a book to read or a crossword puzzle, something. Duo didn’t particularly like crossword puzzles. He would have preferred an argument with Solo, or a game of ticktacktoe, but Solo wasn’t here and he didn’t want to play ticktacktoe with himself, pointless. He fingered the tip of his long braid. It had stayed with him through every move and every house. As long as Duo could remember he had had long hair. Many of his foster parents had tried to convince him to cut it off, but if a pair of scissors neared his hair he screamed bloodily murder. It eventually just became one of his requirements “potential parental unit must not be a threat to the hair”. Most of his foster-ites had sighed and given in. Helen though, she was different, she had loved his hair. She would braid it for him in the morning and help detangle it when he let it get in a mess. But Helen wasn’t there to brush his hair anymore. She wouldn’t ever be. Duo hoped that when Helen got to the Heaven she believed in so staunchly, there would be someone with long hair for her to play with.

Helen had been a devote Catholic, the same as their next door neighbor Father Maxwell. Maxwell had been a priest at one time in his life. He donated some of his old clothes for Solo and Duo to wear. He had actually known Duo’s mother before she died. When he was still a preacher she had been a patron of his church. Duo had very little memory of his mother and hung on the Father’s every word. Solo was sometimes jealous of Duo’s connection to his mother, but Duo had of course offered to share. That was when they really started acting like real brothers. The kids at school had teased them, they didn’t look alike at all and their clothes made them look like miniature priests. Duo was not exactly a sworn atheist; he just didn’t really know what he believed in. He had not been pleased. He had taken the challenges of those who mocked him, and laid them out flat and cold. It went without saying that the school and Helen weren’t very happy with him for this. But Helen believed in forgiveness. A good thing or both Duo and Solo would have been looking at new foster homes a long time before now.

Judging from the level of sound on the bus they were almost to school, funny that they should still be picking up kids. Duo turned away from the window he had been staring out of. There were only one or two more open seats. The seat across from him was taken, two boys sat there. One of them was giggling, if his soft, child-like glee could be called that, at the others miming. Duo watched in fascination. The miming boy was really rather good. His face was partially obscured by his bangs which bizarrely stuck out from his forehead at an angle, almost like a baseball cap. He wore a deep green turtleneck and jeans. Duo always scouted clothes, to get a feel for the person, and what the fashions might be each new place he went. No matter how he acted, Duo still kept his wallflower skills of observation. It paid to know things about other people, especially when they thought you couldn’t tell.

The boy stopped his routine and his friend nodded appreciatively, golf clapping at the boy with the odd hair. His friend took a half bow in the seat. They began talking. The blonde’s rapid fire and the words were lost to the din of the bus. Though the words were intelligible, the tones sounded familiar and it niggled at the back of his brain. Unable to decipher anything Duo turned back to the window and waited to arrive at his new school.

 

1

Duo’s first class was not really a class at all, home room. He was familiar with that. He stuffed his lunch box in his locker and walked into the class room. A paper airplane flew past his head, hitting a white board by the door and falling into the waste basket beneath. Obviously this teacher didn’t care what the students did during their first twenty minutes any more then the teacher did at his last school. He surveyed the students as he walked towards the teacher’s desk. A few had looked up at his entrance, but most were content to ignore him. The girls and boys were equal in number, and over all there weren’t as many people as he had expected. There were only seven in the classroom. Then again this was a private school. There was a girl with spiky black hair tinkering with some sort of mechanical device, taking it apart and categorizing parts, there were two girls playing chess, a boy watching them idly while another was studiously reading and taking notes. There was a girl reading a book, and another boy tucked in a corner with a thick volume balanced on his knees blocking his face.

Duo walked over to the teacher, and handed over his note. The teacher looked up at him over his glasses, nodded and stood up. Rapping a ruler on his desk he called for attention.

“Class!” heads snapped up. The chess players turned in their chairs and the studier glared over the rims of his glasses.

“We have a new student; please welcome Duo Maxwell to our school. I know you won’t pay any attention if I ask you to be kind and show him around, but please help him out. Don’t kill him just ‘cause he’s new here. If he asks a question, try to answer. If you want to be a pain in the behind, like some of you seem to be, don’t cause trouble. That’s all.” The teacher sat down. Duo stared at him a moment, then looked at the class, a few of whom were still looking at him. The spiky haired girl grinned and beckoned to him. Duo walked over to the little table strewn with small bits of metal.

“Hey new guy, name’s Hilde.” She held out a hand and he took it, grinning his wide smile right back at her. She had a twinkle in her eye and he felt they’d get along almost immediately. He pulled up a chair and sat down. It was almost as if that was a signal. The remainder of the class that had been watching him went back to what they were doing.

“This is quite a project you’ve got going here.” He pointed at the organized mess on the table.

“I salvaged it from the trash. Dad just doesn’t understand that I can fix things, and if I can’t I’ll still use parts for scrap. So sad. He doesn’t believe women should be mechanics and engineers.” She glared at her hands a moment, and then beamed, “Loss for him, I don’t care. That’s my lifelong goal in a nutshell. You like working with junk?” Hilde waved in a sweeping motion to indicate the mess on the table in front of her.

Duo nodded, “My last foster parent’s neighbor had a lot of stuff he had collected in his attic and meant to fix but never got around too. One of his daughters and I would excavate and work on things when we were bored. Solo, my brother, absolutely hated it. He couldn’t keep still that long, funny you would think that he could and I couldn’t. I guess you can just get really involved in that sort of work can’t you?”

“That’s for sure; look at how fast the time’s gone now. We have to go to first class in a few minutes.” Hilde said looking at the clock. Duo glanced up as well time had gone by quickly.

“We pair up into eight home rooms, eight people each, and four classes of sixteen. We’re group B, we pair with group A. You go to classes with them for the day. We all have lunch at the same time, but typically you stick to your clan, if you know what I mean.” Hilde rattled off as they followed the knot of people from group B to their first class which was math.

The math teacher was an older man with a moustache and goatee, gray hair somewhat long and slicked back along his head, Duo realized with a little bit of shock and unease that one of his hands was missing. Duo just decided to ignore it. He liked math so no matter how strange the teacher he would probably do well. They were divided into tables, four each. Duo was assigned to the one group of three; there was the mime from that morning, and the mime’s friend, a small boy well dressed with platinum blond hair, and one of the girls who had been playing chess in home room that morning. Now that he looked at her next to the mime he realized how similar they looked.

The math teacher cleared his throat and the soft buzz of noise died. They all turned to the assigned page and began working on the problem numbers written on the board.

“Welcome to the team.” said the chess girl when the noise level had reasserted itself. “I’m Catherine, this is my brother” she pointed at the mime, confirming Duo’s question.

“Trowa” the mime introduced himself.

“And I’m Quatre” said the blond boy with a friendly smile. Duo smiled back. Quatre…that was a unique name and a very familiar one too. He studied Quatre intently. The blond hair was the same. He opened his mouth to ask but Catherine cut him off.

“Are you any good at math?”

“Well...sorta. Some stuff I really get, but some stuff it takes forever.” Duo admitted, his attention swayed.

“Good, I have someone to commiserate with, those two” she glared across the table, “Never seem to have problems with much of anything. So,” she turned back to Duo, “how would you go about this first problem.” They were off.

After math they went straight to science. Science was another class taught by an old man, this one had hair that made his head look like a mushroom and though this was unsettling Duo liked him more then he had the past fellow. Again he sat at the table with only three people, himself being the fourth. Quatre was with him again but the other two he hadn’t met yet. One was named Rick, a geeky sort of guy with glasses and a wide grin, and the other was Sally. She seemed to know a lot. She took him under her wing immediately, taking charge of their table as well, and explained that they were in the middle of doing a “lab” to understand gravity and meteorites. They were dropping various sized projectiles into pans of flour covered in coco powder. It was a lot of fun and Duo smiled and laughed along with the other kids as they trooped out-side with rulers and pans and various marbles and ping pong balls. It wasn’t like anything he had ever experienced in a science class before, but this was a “hands on school” and he learned a lot from the experiment. This would probably stick with him more then anything else from a text book ever would.

After science there was break. He followed Quatre, the blond. He had yet to be able to ask Quatre if he was who he thought he was. It really irked Duo. By now he was almost positive that Quatre had been one of his best friends and next door neighbors before Helen had moved to live with Father Maxwell. It had been one of Quatre’s older sisters who had helped him fix things. Quatre and Solo had always tried to help and eventually given up and watched instead. The memory of his childhood friend and this Quatre were very similar. Cat, as people called him now, was very friendly. Duo decided it was worth asking.

“Hey. Did you ever live next to a Helen Maxwell?” He asked. Quatre paused, and then beamed.

“It is you. I wasn’t sure, not that many people are named Duo. But you’re hairs different. I remember it was long, but not nearly that long.”

“Hair grows. I can’t believe we’re at the same school I never thought I’d see you again. Why didn’t you write? How have you been?”

“I lost your address.” Cat explained sheepishly. “Things have been well.” They were deep in conversation, reminiscing and laughing at their mutually regained friendship by the time they walked down the hall to Cat’s locker so he could get something for the next class, which would be English. They hit it off just as well the second time as the first.

They chatted as Cat fussed with his combination and popped open his locker, each student had their own here, something Duo greatly appreciated. Cat’s locker was pretty plain, with a few pictures of the dessert, a couple of an older girl with platinum blond hair, Duo remembered her as being Cat’s oldest sister Ira. There were also a few pictures of the mime, Trowa. Cat leaned in to get something, still talking about a band he and Duo had both seen in concert, when a pair of arms wrapped around his waist from the back. Cat started a little, Duo was surprised as well, usually he was aware of everyone around him, but he had not seen this coming. Cat turned and mock glared at the boy behind him.

“Trowa, don’t you know better then to sneak up behind people and grab them, it’s rude. One of these days I’m going to deck you and we wouldn’t want that now would we?” Duo felt his lips tug upwards.

Trowa spoke, echoing Duo’s thoughts. “You? Deck anyone?” Cat simply let his face go completely blank and raised one slow, almost icy eyebrow. The creepy little smile Cat wore was a warning Duo recognized. Usually Cat was well-behaved, but Duo remembered a few times, whether in a game of monopoly or a snowball fight when that expression had appeared. It meant it was time to run and cover. Duo looked between the two.

“Care to try me?” Cat challenged. Trowa was unfazed. He began massaging Cat’s shoulders. Cat sighed, and the expression was gone in an instant as he leaned back into Trowa.

“No, I don’t think I will. I am quite attached to myself thank you very much and I’d like to keep my life and limb.” Trowa stated fondly. The taller boy rested his head on Cat’s and glanced toward Duo.

“New friend?” Trowa asked, “We’ve been introduced, but not very well. I’m Trowa and it seems you’ve met Kitty here.” Cat gave a pointed glared to Trowa. Trowa smiled endearingly and tickled Cat behind the ears. Despite his disgruntled expression, Duo would not have been surprised if Cat started purring.

“Ignore this lug. He knows that name drives me nuts. He only does it cause I’ll kill anybody else who says it. Take note.” Cat’s eyes promised death if Duo even thought of using the name. “But, I can’t very well rain fiery death upon him. Sometimes I don’t know why I put up with him.” Cat’s voice was fond, and though he was talking to Duo, he was looking at Trowa.

“Because you love me and I’m the most wonderful person in the world?”

“Hmmm….Because your self-centered and vain and…what else.”

“Gorgeous and funny and your boyfriend?”

“Yeah that too I guess.”

Duo watched all this with slightly amused alarm. At any of his old schools this sort of display would not have been allowed. The teachers wouldn’t step in, but it was a death warrant with the other students. Maybe all liberal arts schools were more open, he wondered. Apparently this sort of thing was okay, at least here. Cat and Trowa clearly weren’t worried that they’d be ostracized. Duo thought of a pair of boys who’d been his friends at an old school. One had wound up in the hospital and the both had transferred away. His disgust at thoughts of his previous school must have shown a bit on his face because Cat looked a bit startled and moved away slightly.

“You don’t mind do you….I’m really sorry if we’re offending your religion or something we’ll stop and go away if you like. I know some people can’t stand public displays of affection when…”

“Not a problem, I was just wondering, aren’t you guys worried about…I dunno. I guess you’re, er, _out_ , but won’t other people….well…I mean. Everybody can’t be so…at my old school…” Cat saw Duo’s confusion and worry and began to chuckle.

“Yeah there are a couple of stick-in-the-mud types here, but most people don’t care. For some reason this school seems to attract a whole bunch of Kinsey types. We all know that we’re not necessarily one thing or the other so why say no to love when it comes up and bites you on the…nose?” Trowa snickered at his partner and Duo began to smile. He was really getting to like this school.

 

2

The next class was two block periods long, English/History/Social Studies combination. Duo followed Trowa and Cat, feeling a bit like a third wheel, not that he really wanted an arm around his waist. All the tables in the classroom were round. Where Trowa and Cat sat down there was already a boy sitting in a chair at the table, Duo took the only empty seat left at the table. Their teacher was a woman this time. She had a kindly smile but there seemed to be a dangerous edge to her, like thinly veiled ice. There were a pair of glasses on her desk, but she didn’t wear them and her hair was down to her mid back.

“That’s Lady Une.” Cat whispered.

“Lady?” Duo was a bit incredulous.

“Instead of Mrs.” Trowa explained.

“Oh, thanks.” Duo nodded, keeping his eyes forward on the front of the room.

Lady Une took a quick roll and began class. She seemed to like class participation and she kept asking question after question about the war they were currently studying. Most of the questions were purely ethical and personal opinion, but she never criticized the answers.

“Be critical thinkers!” she shouted at them, as if just to make sure they were paying attention. There was no need. This was a class you couldn’t sleep through. Duo found himself enjoying it, but as they filed out he had to ask.

“I thought this was an English class, not just Social Studies, and that wasn’t really History either.”

“It’s called “Section”. We discuss the previous lecture. That’s what today was about, and go over material. She goes in swings on how she teaches” Cat explained, “She does a few weeks of one thing and then does a more Social Studies approach. Based on what our discussions are like she assigns some essay on the ethical topic of choice and we get our grammar and stuff through correcting them. It’s not hard, and it’s fun. Although sometimes she goes into ‘super teacher’ mode and she’s really strict. She destroyed this guy in C class’ paper. He left crying. But usually she’s great.” Duo gulped and nodded, teachers could be very strange.

“What’s next?” he asked. He was really hungry and Cat’s answer of “lunch” was appreciated.

Duo dashed back to his locker. Hilde’s locker was next to his. When she opened it, the inside looked like a warehouse. Duo grinned, grabbing his lunch box and asking for directions to the lunch room.

“It’s that way. Wait a sec and I’ll come with you.” She waved for him to wait from her position halfway inside her locker, riffling through her junk for her lunch box.

“Did you loose it in there; it’s like a black hole of stuff.”

“I’m a salvager; I can’t bear to let something useful go to waste so I keep it till I can do something with it. I’m very clean really, organized. Unlike you.” she pointed out.

Duo raised a brow, “How do you know I’m not organized?”

“You don’t act like it, plus your stuff isn’t organized in you locker and you haven’t even set up shop yet.” She nodded to affirm herself. Duo sighed and rolled his eyes as she found her lunch box and hauled it out. They walked towards the lunch room, passing the other boy who had been sitting at his table during English, or History, or whatever that was.

“Who’s that?” Duo asked. He hooked a thumb over his shoulder as the boy walked up to the locker next to Duo’s and palmed the lock.

“That? That’s Heero.” Hilde shrugged. “Don’t know him well, he’s a quiet sort. By himself a lot, but he does hang with Trowa a bit. Quiet folks stick together I guess. It’s them and Wufei and that little blond thing. They’re his group, and Sally since she’s basically Wu’s girlfriend. By the way don’t call Wufei that. He’s proud of his heritage. That name offends his sensibilities, so we all call him that. Well, I guess you can call him that, just annoys him is all.” Hilde had an evil glint in her eye. _Remind me not to get on her bad side_ , Duo thought. She really was a little imp.

They sat down at a lunch table; all the students ate together at the same time, but the tended to divide up by grade and group. Duo sat down with Trowa and Cat, Hilde sat with him. Catherine joined them and her girl friends, Dorothy and Relena, followed. Wufei and Sally tagged behind them. Heero appeared a little later and took a seat. This seemed to be the typical crowd, a bit bigger then the crowd Duo and hung with at his previous school, but then again the school was smaller so people must get to know each other better. There was only about that much room at the table so when the seniors Noin and her boyfriend Zechs who was Relena’s brother, showed up they had to pull up chairs at the end of the table.

People chatted lightly over their meals. Quatre explained that the lunch room would reopen in a few weeks, the remodel was almost done. Then there would be food provided again. Of course they could always sign off campus and go to the pizza place or café up the street. Duo nodded, one ear on Cat’s explanations the other on Wufei, Sally, Noin and Zechs’ heated conversation about politics in the background. Hilde was good naturedly bickering with Trowa’s sister Catherine, bringing in Dorothy and Relena to prove one point or another. Only Heero was staying silent, watching everything as he ate. Duo thought he’d never meet another person who could eat as fast as he could, but Heero ate quickly, tucking food away so methodically not a crumb was left. Duo watched in fascination for a bit before letting his eyes wander again.

After lunch was a free period. There was a big common room and most people seemed to hang out there. There was a piano and a few guitars and drums. The latter nobody played since teachers would invariable tell the student to be quiet, but Cat sat down at the piano to play and boy was he good. Duo stood leaning against the wall watching everyone and listening to Cat play. Trowa walked over from his locker where he’d put away his lunch box and sat down next to his boyfriend. He joined seamlessly into the song. It was a beautiful duet. Duo closed his eyes and listened.

He felt something, like someone watching and slowly opened his eyes. Cat and Trowa were still playing. Wufei was using one of the pipes that hung from the ceiling for chin-ups it seemed he and Sally were having a competition on who could do the most. Hilde was reading something and there were several other people scattered around the room but none seemed to be watching Duo. Duo carefully looked around, trying to seem as if he wasn’t searching for a pair of eyes. He eventually found them, looking back at him over a lap top. It was the silent boy. When Duo caught his eye he simply stared back, almost accusatory. Duo looked at him. Heero had messy short dark brown hair and eyes Duo would have said were Asian with their slanting shape, except they were a deep cobalt blue. They were knowing, scrutinizing eyes that missed nothing. Duo tried a smile, pushing off from the wall and walking over to the other boy. Those eyes got a bit more distant and almost a little put off. They dropped back to the laptop.

“What are you doing?” Duo asked, pointing to the laptop. The boy ignored him. Duo didn’t mind. He sat down propping his back up against the wall next to Heero, arms above his head as if he was about to go to sleep.

“Work.” The voice came eventually. Heero had an even voice, a little low and maybe a bit rough, like sand paper, but it was pleasant.

“What work?” Duo asked with his eyes still closed. There was no answer this time. “Sorry if I’m disturbing you.” Duo stood up and walked away from the silent boy and to the piano. He still had that feeling of unsettling eyes boring into his back.

After their free period they all headed to gym. Gym was lead by a younger man, in his early twenties, a student teacher in his last year of college. He had them stretch out to make sure they wouldn’t injure themselves. Then he took them out to the playfield behind the school. Today they would be running. They paired up into running partners. Duo watched as people paired off with their friends. It seemed almost everybody had a running buddy. Duo looked to Hilde but she and Sally were already partnered together. Finally it was himself, Relena, Dorothy and Heero left partner-less. They all stood at odds, drifting between each other. Duo didn’t really know any of them and they seemed to be waiting for his decision. The teacher came over to them and fixed the dispute by pairing them himself. Duo ended up with Heero. Even though Heero never spoke he didn’t really mind. Hilde and Sally ran at about their pace, and were near by. Duo chatted with Hilde and Sally, watching Heero running along beside him from the corner of his eye. Heero was really well built. He was slim and compact, it almost seemed every once of weight and muscle in his body was purposeful and in top shape. Duo was admiring the way those muscles rippled with every step when Hilde bumped his arm gently.

“Hey, Duo, you in there?” she had a smile and eyebrow quirked at him when he turned his head back to her.

“Uh, yeah, I’m here.” He shook his head slightly as if to dispel something. Then, looking out right at Heero asked,

“Do you usually run at this speed? It seems as if you might be one to go faster.” Heero looked over at Duo, expression blank.

“Yes,” came the answer. Heero’s voice betrayed no preference either way.

“Well, if you want you could stretch out into a faster pace. If I can’t keep up I’ll tell you to reign in.” Duo smiled friendlily.

“Hn.” Was Heero’s answer, but he picked up the pace. Duo grinned to Hilde and Sally, loped after Heero.

The PE teacher watched the kids running around the track. Usually Heero lead the pack, but now he was hanging back with the new boy. The teacher was almost regretful of putting them together. He liked when kids could go at the pace that suited them. But then he saw Heero suddenly moved into higher gear, his usual pace. The new boy waved to his friends and caught up. The teacher raised and eyebrow. Not many people could run as fast as Heero for long distances. But the new kid seemed to be keeping up, just a step behind. They rounded the track, Duo smiled and nodded and said a passing word to all those he ran by while Heero just moved forward, power in motion. They were polar opposites almost, running at almost equal pace. He definitely had to get the new guy to join the track team. He’d be great for the relay.

After PE came art. Duo had never had a specific class for art at his old school and was eager to see what it might be like. They had two hours for this class. There were five courses you could take: portraiture, photography, drama, dance, and pottery. Duo had signed up for photography for the first term. Helen had given him a good camera for his last birthday and he wanted to learn how to use it. He walked to the room where the photography class was being held. There were a few people in it, some of them in higher grades, a few from his. The teacher was a woman in casual dress, jeans and a beat up blouse, rolled up to the elbows, camera in hand. She beckoned for everyone to crowd around the round table in the center of the room. Duo drifted over towards the others in his year, the Chinese boy who had been at lunch with him was here, as was the girl who had been Relena’s running partner, Dorothy.

“This is the beginners photography class so we’re going to cover everything whether you think you know it or not.” The teacher announced once her class had gathered. Duo felt relief at that; he didn’t want to be the only one not knowing what to do.

“Today we’re going to just go over the parts of your camera and the logistics of how a picture is taken.” Duo leaned in to make sure he heard every word. For some the class might have been boring, but Duo loved it.

Art was the final class of the day. Afterwards the students made their way back to their home rooms and cleaned. Their teacher called it “beautification”. It seemed to Duo that they were just too cheap to get an actual janitor. It was then time to go home. Duo pulled his junk from his locker and followed the rest of the students out side to where the busses were waiting. He hadn’t signed up for any sports yet, but maybe he would. There certainly weren’t as many people on the bus ride home. Duo sat with Quatre on the way home.

“Trowa’s on the soccer team, I tried out but I don’t enjoy it as much, I join track in the spring. I just can’t seem to like soccer very much, I do band instead, but our practices don’t start for a while.” Quatre explained.

“I was thinking of trying out for the cross country, but maybe I should do soccer, I have absolutely no musical talent.” Duo confided.

“That’s what Trowa said, but now he’s first flute, so you never know what might happen. Why don’t you try out for both teams? They practice different days. Wufei’s on soccer and Heero’s on cross country. Hilde’s on girls’ soccer I think, as is Sally and Dorothy.”

“Thanks Cat. It’s nice to know someone who knows the lay of the land.”

“You’re welcome; I remember what it was like for me first coming here. My sister Iria insisted I go here since she did. She enrolled me. I went on a tour day and I met Wufei and he was friends with Trowa. I liked them enough to agree to going. Then I started coming here and things happened, and now I’m one of the gang.” Cat grinned and Duo offered one back.

“Passing along the karma, then?” Duo teased.

“Uh-huh. Now when the next new guy comes you have to be nice to them.” Cat nodded with mock severity. They laughed companionably as the bus bounced along and Duo couldn’t help but feel blessed to have such light come from a bad situation. He wondered if all the kids at his school were so nice, he doubted it but he wanted to get to know them. Their stories, some how he felt this was no bad thing.

 

3

Duo boarded the bus taking the seat that he had appropriated as his own. A few stops later Hilde sat down in front of him, she road the bus Monday through Wednesday. Those were the days when she was at her mom’s. Duo chatted with Hilde while waiting for Trowa and Cat to be picked up. When they arrived at school they split to their class rooms.

Duo had come to greatly enjoy his homeroom. The supervising teacher didn’t care what they did as long as they didn’t burn down the school building or kill each other. So there were daily chess tournaments, people read, argued, and did all manner of things. Duo didn’t like chess much, but he and Wufei had taken to playing cards with Hilde and Rick sometimes joining in.

After homeroom Duo went to math. He was learning quickly. Math didn’t always make sense to him, but now he had help. Trowa and Cat certainly seemed to be mathematicians, and both of them were in his group. Duo’s second favorite class was probably Science. Duo liked to do things with his hands. He understood when he could feel and see something in action. Duo didn’t like English very much. The teacher made it interesting and he liked the debates, but remembering dates and times and stories no matter how important or funny they were, he just couldn’t do. But he was with his friends and Cat liked history, and Heero, who barely spoke, was as academic as one could get. Heero was a really interesting guy. He didn’t talk much, but when he did you listened because he was a pretty bright bulb. Heero watched things. He wasn’t a wallflower really; he had an air about him that almost repelled other people. Duo was still undaunted. He and Heero were now partners in PE. Of course, Duo guessed that his company was not appreciated. Up until now Heero had been the odd man out, able to get away without having a partner. But Duo could keep up with Heero, and he knew enough to control his runaway mouth.

Art was Duo’s favorite class. He really got into photography. He had taken to carrying his camera wherever he went. But they only had art every other day. Language was on the other days. Duo was taking Spanish because he had once been in a foster family that had spoken Spanish fluently and Duo had been interested to learn the language. Language was certainly not Duo’s favorite class. He put up with it because he needed it to graduate, and he was remotely interested.

At lunches Duo sat with the gang. He chatted with Cat about everything, movies, books, odds and ends. He talked with Hilde about car parts and computers and how to put things back together. He talked, or ranted, with Wufei about politics, bands and books. And he watched Heero. After the first few weeks Duo found himself really wanting to know more about the other boy. He was getting to know all of his other friends, but Heero just didn’t seem to open up. Duo wondered why he was so shy, if shyness was the thing. Maybe he was just an introvert. He was never rude or mean, at least not on purpose. He just glowered from behind that laptop and ignored the rest of the world except for the occasional conversation with Wufei or quiet chat with Trowa. Duo stuck watching Heero into his schedule and decided to leave figuring out the boy for later.

In the afternoons Duo joined the sports crowd. He tried out for both soccer and cross country. He got on both teams. He decided to go for cross-country because it fit into his schedule best. His new foster mother and father both worked late on cross-country days so it would be one day less home alone. There were kids he had know who would have certainly gone for the soccer and blew off their parents, but Duo felt that he had to spend as much time as possible with whichever guardians were watching over him. Maybe it was the fact that there had been so many and they had all gone so quickly. He didn’t know. So after school he found himself putting on a pair of running shorts and jogging out to the track. The school had a track that wound around the full complex, there was a middle school, high school, and elementary, as well as a playing field and the track ran around all of this. Duo bent over, stretching, putting his arms behind his head and standing on one leg to stretch his quads. After stretching the team ran the track, starting with a light jog and increasing. They practiced relays and sometimes even sprinting. He learned how to run hills, when to make sure his knees were higher, kicks and other forms of running. Duo enjoyed it. He had always liked running.

There were late busses for those who did sports and Duo boarded one of them after practice. He sagged against the seat. Even if he did enjoy running it was exhausting. He did his homework on the bus since he was the only one of his friends riding the late bus home on those days. Life was falling into a pretty good routine. Except for one small bit. Duo had always been good at making friends easily; he was on a first name basis with most of the people at school. That is, all but Heero. Heero was the enigma. That drove Duo nuts. It wasn’t that Heero was mean or anything, he just discouraged, that was an understatement, people getting to know him better. Duo was only in a class with him twice. They didn’t talk in P.E., though Duo learned a lot about Heero’s physical capabilities. The guy could run fast for hours if he had to, Duo was sure. Duo usually had no problem keeping up in P.E. He had always had a gift for being physically fit, but with Heero as a partner Duo was quickly learning that just being fit wasn’t enough. Duo was not about to slow down and look weak. In English Heero was mainly silent, as he was in all classes. He seemed to just sit and absorb the information, nothing more, and nothing less. So Duo would talk with Trowa and Cat. They were probably his best friends. Cat and Duo had started hanging out on weekends as well. Trowa was often there, because Cat was, of course. They would go bowling or hiking, if it wasn’t raining, or just sit and talk. Duo had confided in Cat his interest in Heero. Cat furrowed his brow thinking, gave Duo a long look and sighed. Duo quirked an eyebrow,

“What?”

“Just thinking.”

“I only want to get to know him a bit better, I mean I talk with everybody, but he doesn’t talk back, it’s like he’s a rock or something. I’ve seen him hanging out with Trowa and Wufei too sometimes, I was just wondering what you knew about him.” Duo shrugged, “That’s all.” Cat smiled, eyes twinkling. Duo didn’t know what Cat thought but he put on one of his grins and played along.

“Could we invite him over, or have Trowa invite him. The four of us could go do something together, you know?”

Cat’s expression was almost a kind and gentle smirk, if there could be such a thing, “Like a double date?”

“Not exactly, but yeah.” Duo nodded.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

It turned out that the weekend was a nice one; the sun was out, it wasn’t deathly hot, but warm enough to go swimming. When Cat suggested that one, Duo almost choked. Swimming, with Cat sure, Trowa okay, but with Heero? Duo immediately tried to beg off, but Cat was having none of it. Heero remained stonily silent and Trowa just stood behind Cat with a kind, encouraging half smile. In the end Duo gave in. Swimming.

The lake was about a half hours drive. Cat’s older sister said she would drive them, so they all piled into her car and she smiled and chatted lightly with Trowa and Cat, Duo staring out the window and chiming in every so often. Heero, across the car, sat in mute silence watching the trees slide past. It was a very pretty lake, clear, sparkling blue water and a tree with a rope swing that hung out over part of it, there was a small beach and grassy banks. The water though wasn’t the warmest, the first foot or so on the surface was nice but the deeper water went from mild to icy. Cat’s sister spread out a blanket and lay down with a paperback to read while the boys went swimming. Cat immediately striped down to his swim trunks and ran towards the water, splashing and jumping about like a young child. He squealed at the cold, losing his balance and falling over into the shallows. He beckoned, laughing and Trowa acquiesced, joining his boyfriend with less fanfare and splashing, wading out past Cat and then sinking down till the water reached his chin, then slowly beginning to swim this way and that, lazily. Duo watched a bit, and then decided he would have to go in as well. He took off his sweatshirt, shivering at the light wind. Clad in just his swim trunks he walked over to the tree. Duo sized it up. It would hold his weight. He scampered along the limb to the rope swing, unwinding it till it was free and long enough to barely skim the water, and then he pulled it back and climbed on. Jumping off the branch to swing out over the water, letting go at the high point of the arc and closing his eyes as the water closed over his head with a tremendous splash.

Duo came to the surface, shaking water and bangs out of his eyes, to the sound of Cat’s clapping and laughter. Duo gave a mock half bow in the water, treading, his feet couldn’t touch the bottom this far out. Duo swam over to Cat. Heero had quietly joined them at some point during Duo’s dramatic entrance, and he was now going about swimming in much the way he did everything else, not for fun but for maximum utility. He was doing a perfect crawl stroke and heading out across the lake. It wasn’t large but it would certainly be exercise.

Cat watched Duo’s eyes following Heero out over the lake,

“Doesn’t know how to have fun. We should distract him when he gets back, otherwise he’ll be at it the whole afternoon.” Duo answered with a slight, preoccupied, nod.

“Nice form though,” Quatre grinned evilly. Duo turned wide eyes over to Cat.

“I’m talking about the swimming, Duo. But if I didn’t have Trowa… Well, Heero’s not really my type, but you can’t deny he’s attractive. Come to think of it, if Trowa wasn’t around I might be hitting on you!”

“Thanks but no thanks. I’m flattered though.” Duo smiled, he knew that Cat was joking, but even so, the people here were so different from those at his old school, his old friends. But what would they really think. What would Heero think? Anyways he didn’t really _like_ Heero that way. Duo didn’t _like_ anybody that way. Whenever Duo _liked_ someone they all went away.

“Come on Duo, loosen up a bit!” Cat was talking and Duo focused in on him, away from his thoughts, “Love is love right. Anyway friends are for telling secret crushes too, so then they can go play match maker. That’s what Wufei did for Trowa and I.” The idea of Wufei as a matchmaker was so comical that Duo started laughing,

“No way, not Wu-man, you’re kidding right.”

Trowa swam over. “No, seriously. He came up to me one day and said, ‘I have decided that I am sick and tired of two of my best friends acting like the other is an atomic bomb because they like each other so much. Get it, He likes You, and You like Him. Now I expect you to be going out by next week, or at least have talked to each other about it or else I’ll be driven screaming mad by all of this unresolved tension.’ He had just given the same talk to Cat, so when he pushed me out into the hall Cat was standing in front of the door. So Wufei sticks his head out of the classroom and says ‘Now kiss and make up for the fact that you’re both idiots or whatever you guys do, go have a nice cup of tea and read poetry to each other, but quit being so skittish!’”

Duo laughed along with the story as Trowa wrapped his arms around Cat and the two of them floated.

Duo was seized by a great idea, to start a splash fight. He had always loved sneak attacking Solo. He splashed Cat then made hasty retreat. He was caught unawares by Trowa’s splash and soon engaged with rapid fire against Cat who had some sort of special hand cupping technique that splashed long distance.

Heero was coming back across the lake, unknowing that he was swimming into a war zone. When Duo ducked a splash from Trowa then saw a pair of legs go by he automatically grabbed and pulled the person under. Needless to say, Heero was quite surprised when he came, spluttering, to the surface. Duo went beet red, realizing that it was not his assailant he had grabbed, but an innocent bystander.

“Oh, Heero, I’m sorry, I-” but that was as far as he got because Cat came up behind him and pulled Duo under, before splashing Trowa who was sneaking up behind Heero and getting both wet when Trowa retaliated. Duo came bursting back up flailing water everywhere. Heero, albeit reluctantly, joined the fight, or more like he was dragged into it.

They swam for a while longer before finally climbing waterlogged out of the lake and grabbing beach towels to sprawl in the sun. Duo had brought a brush and set into his hair, it had come undone and was now a knotted sopping mass. Cat was next to him, resting up against Trowa, and Heero was on his other side staring at the lake. Cat’s sister had gone back to the car for their picnic lunch. A sort of peace seemed to have settled over the lake.

“Why do you keep your hair so long?” Cat asked eventually.

“Hmmm?” asked Duo, not paying attention, “Oh my hair, it’s always been like that. Never seriously cut it, trimmed yes, but never cut. Helen, you remember her, loved to braid it and play with it. She had wanted to own a salon when she was little, but that never happened.” Duo explained fondly.

“Could I brush it?” Cat asked. Duo nodded and handed the brush over, moving so he was sitting in front of Cat, facing away, toward Heero.

“It’s just so long, I can hardly believe it, and can I braid it too. I braided my sisters’ hair when I was little.” Duo nodded again.

“Go ahead, do what you like; I lost my hair tie so it doesn’t matter.” Cat sat up more and began to brush Duo’s hair. Duo closed his eyes to the familiar feeling; he could almost imagine that those were Helen’s hands behind the brush and that she would speak to him and ask if he and Solo wanted to go out for ice-cream with her or murmur endearments.

Quatre sat back. “Thanks, that was fun. I haven’t done that in a long time.” Cat snickered, reaching over to tug Trowa’s odd bangs, “Maybe I could braid your hair.” Trowa simply raised an eyebrow his look clearly saying that Cat would be insane to try a stunt like that no matter how much Trowa loved him.

“Some things are sacred you know.” Trowa smiled.

“Never touch the hair.” Duo said, holding a hand in front of his heart as if pledging allegiance.

Cat’s sister brought the food. They all sat up and moved to congregate around it, picking out chips and sandwiches and apples. Duo sat down, said a quick prayer and set in. Quatre didn’t say a blessing aloud, but was silent a moment before lightly picking into his bag of chips. Trowa carefully unwrapped his sandwich and methodically began eating it. Duo was halfway done with his sandwich when Heero, having analyzed his food and chosen his first course, unwrapped his own sandwich, carefully folding the plastic wrap into a neat rectangle. Heero was a bit odd sometimes, but the way he did things was interesting so that it made you want to know more.

 

**4**

On Monday Duo boarded the bus humming. He was still riding on the residual happiness of the weekend, the good weather had held over and the sky was blue and clear. Duo sat down in his usual seat. Cat and Trowa climbed aboard, sitting across from him, the two were already engaged in a discussion. Duo decided that he wouldn’t bother interrupting them. Instead he looked out the window and hummed to himself, his thoughts wandering.

Monday turned out to be an interesting day, both bad and good. The grade was told to gather that morning instead of going to home room. It was announced that they had a big term project. They were going to learn about the history of flight, planes and jets and gliders etc. Eventually they would be presenting at the local air and space museum. Presenting? Duo wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that. He was a social person, but talking in front of big crowds wasn’t necessarily his thing.

Cat though was in heaven, “Oh, this is going to be great, want me to help you write your speech Duo?”

“Um…maybe.” Duo was still trying to process everything.

“Because of the Culminating Event of this term, we’re going to be dividing you into groups. You’re going to work on different subjects based on which group you’re doing. Also you are going to be doing one major piece of partner work and an individual piece as well. This will all be determined by what you are interested in, and who you would like to work with, we’re passing out papers now, please fill them out and turn them in to this basket. When you’re done you have free time till first period.” The teacher explaining concluded. Duo took the paper and pencil when the student handing them out came by. He looked over the paper. Huh.

 _Preferred partners (name three) be sure to list them in order of importance._ Duo thought a long while before answering that one. Quatre and Hilde were his best friends; he would gladly work with them, but for the third. He knew who he wanted to spend more time with, but was it too much to ask. And that “in order of importance bit”, they were all important. Finally he settled on answering: _Quatre, Heero, Hilde_.

 _Subject of interest, circle three: military aircraft, commercial aircraft, sporting aircraft, hangers aircraft carriers and aircraft assistors, history, people_. Duo chose _military aircraft, aircraft carriers,_ and _people._

With the form filled out Duo dropped it in the basket and went to sit by Cat and Trowa.

“What’s the scoop, any plans?” Duo asked plunking down in the empty seat.

“Well, a study group is in order, but once we know who’s paired with whom.” Cat explained, “Now we have free time, scrabble?” Cat motioned to the board Wufei was bringing over.

“Sure. Teams?” Duo agreed.

“Me and Trowa, Wufei and Hilde, you and Heero.” Cat said handing out the tile holders as Hilde and Heero came over and joined them. “We’ll go clockwise, Wufei, Hilde you’re up.” They put their heads together murmuring over their tiles before laying out the word “m-u-s-e”.

“Now you and Heero.” Duo had been studying their words, they couldn’t have started, but if they used the ‘e’…he leaned over to confer with Heero. Heero placed the pieces out “x-i-t”.

“Exit, your turn.”

“Nice use of an x.” Cat complemented as Trowa laid out their tiles, “a-p” for “map”. Heero nudged Duo to point out a way for them to use the “a”, and Duo nodded and placed the pieces once Wufei and Hilde had gone.

By Wednesday the teachers had figured out partner arrangements. They would be announced in morning home room. Duo was playing Set with Dorothy, Catherine, and Hilde. Set was a game where you matched cards into “sets” of three, and whoever had the most sets at the end won. Heero was at the nearest table typing into his laptop, an improvement from his back corner at least. Wufei was late. Wufei swam in the mornings, being on a swim team, and when traffic was particularly bad on his way back from the pool he was often late. But he arrived, hair slicked back and damp, before the announcement was given.

“The partners for this assignment will be as follows: Hilde and Sally; Quatre and Relena; Rick and Mara; Barret and Jeffery; Duo and Heero; Wufei and Catherine; Dorothy and Trowa.” The teacher read off her list. “Each group has been given a different plane to report on. Hilde and Sally have the Curtis Robins, Quatre and Relena have the DC-3, Rick and Mara have the Cessna, Barret and Jeffery have the Aero-Car, Duo and Heero have the Piper Cub, Wufei and Catherine have the Black Bird, and Dorothy and Trowa have the Albatross. You’ll find out your individual assignments later this week. Today we’re changing our Core structure so you can get a bit of time to research. We’re going to change our schedule completely next week so you’ll have adequate research time, you’ll do research in science, math in math, and speech writing in English, in social studies you’ll be learning about the history of aviation. But for today we’ll just do research.

Duo gathered up the set cards and stored them on the bookshelf before walking over to Heero.

“We’ll use your laptop?” Duo questioned.

“Hn. I suppose.” Heero’s fingers were already directing Google to cough up information on the piper cub.

“I’ll work on this; you should look over the bookshelves to see if our library has anything.” Heero directed, staring that the plasma screen. Duo shrugged.

“Okay. See you in a bit.” He ran up to the second floor where the library was. This was going to be an interesting project.

At lunch everyone was busy discussing their new projects, their likes and dislikes.

“The blackbird is awesome!” Catherine informed them, “Not only is it one of the fastest planes but, you know area 51, the one with all the alien saucer sightings?”

“Uh-huh.” Said Hilde looking up from her spaghetti

“Well, a lot of those were blackbird sightings. It was all secret because the government didn’t want anyone knowing about them so when people saw the blackbird test pilots zoom by they thought it must be aliens!”

“That’s pretty cool.” Quatre agreed. “Our plane isn’t very special, although it was one of the first really successful passenger carrying planes. It even had a special sleeper version.”

“That’s cool, it’s not amazing like the blackbird, but we gotta have some normal planes right?” Duo offered.

“I suppose.” Cat nodded. “What’s the Cub like?”

“Dunno, Heero was on the internet, I was looking at our library. There’s one book with the Piper in it, but I haven’t read it yet.”

“What’d you find out Heero?” Cat prodded.

“It’s a reconnaissance plane. They were used in one of the world wars. I’ll be getting more information.”

“Hey, there’s a library near my house.” Cat offered. “You could all come over and we could get books. Besides I have apple trees and they’re finally ripe. They need to be picked and turned into applesauce.”

“Applesauce?” Hilde asked, “why not apple pie filling?”

“We’ve done that before, my sister likes to make pie filling, but we have so many apples that it’s easier to make applesauce. The more hands the merrier I say. I’ve already recruited Trowa. You all wanna come, Duo, Heero, Wufei?”

“I’m coming.” Hilde nodded. “I’ll do pie fillings and you guys can do applesauce. I can always just take some home.”

“Take as much as you want.”

“I think I can come. What day?” Duo asked, trying to remember what his foster mother had said the weekend schedule was.

“Well, Friday would be good.” Cat suggested, “You could all ride the bus home with me. Sleep over if you want?”

“Dad might throw a fit.” Hilde laughed.

“I dunno, I’ve got this family thing this weekend.” Wufei abdicated.

“Oh, family thing. We all know that excuse.” Sally laughed lightly punching Wufei’s arm.

“Ow, woman, what do you think I am? A punching bag?”

“Not just any punching bag, _my_ punching bag.” Sally said wrapping an arm around Wufei. “I won’t be able to come either. I actually have an excuse; I’m going to be volunteering at the animal shelter.”

“Good luck.” said Dorothy, walking over and dropping her tray next to Sally. “So where is everyone going?”

“Applesauce party, Cat’s house.” Duo explained.

“Applesauce party?” Relena asked, sliding in next to Quatre. “Is would that be when you fill a pool full of applesauce and people jump in it?”

“What gave you that idea?” Sally quirked and eyebrow, “Is that what it’s about?” she turned inquisitively to Cat.

“Nope, we need people to pick apples and make applesauce. Open invitation: Friday after school to whenever people want to leave on Saturday.”

“Sounds great, my baby brother going?” Catherine asked peeling her orange.

“Yup. Where is he by the way?” Cat asked Dorothy.

“I thought you had tabs on him at all time.” Catherine smirked.

“Nope, persons got to have a little free reign; I just live in his pocket 23 hours of the day.” Cat replied playfully sticking his tongue out at Catherine.

“He’s got lunch duty today for your information.” Catherine replied.

“Do you discuss anything other then Trowa?” Zechs asked sitting down in the seat recently vacated when Hilde had moved off to do a last minute Spanish project.

“Yes, I do.” Cat said primly “I don’t talk about him when he’s with me.”

“Oh, so you talk about him two seconds out of the day?”

Cat mock glared, “What is this? “Pick on the Winner” day? And I’m the one being kind enough to invite you all over.”

“What’s this?” Zechs asked.

“Applesauce.” Sally grinned and excused her self.

“Applesauce?” Zechs wrinkled his forehead.

“Cat, explain to the poor man.” Duo grinned. “I for one have had enough time to catch my breath from all this chatter and finish my meal.” Duo pushed back his chair and went to drop his empty paper bag in the trash. He wondered where Heero had managed to run off too.

 

A/N: I have a beta! I’m so happy. Sorry it was a while since the last post but that’s cause my beta was hard at work. So kudos to the wonderful muse, friend and beta of Ray-chan! Happy dance. Hopefully some stuff will make more since because of her. She pointed out I often leave out timing. I don’t think I actually changed any of the times I did. Frankly I often don’t know how much time has passed, and am leaving that up to the reader. I hope that doesn’t make it too confusing. If people are confused I’ll go back and rework some chapters. I hope you like it!

**5**

Friday came soon enough. It was the carrot on the end of a stick for Duo. Get through school till Friday and he had a night with his friends. When the bell rang, Duo grabbed his stuff from his locker and raced Hilde down the hall ignoring the senior who called to them to slow down.

There was a fairly good turnout. Hilde and Dorothy were staying till dinner. Zechs could only come for a few hours and Relena was getting a ride from him. Trowa and Heero were staying over and Wufei would be there till nine. His “family thing” was happening Saturday. They all piled on the bus, Trowa and Cat in their usual seat. Heero happened to pick the seat across from them, unknowing of Duo’s claim to it, not that Duo was unwilling to share. Dorothy and Relena sat in front of them and Hilde in front of Cat and Trowa. Wufei sat behind Duo and Heero, perfectly content to rant across the isle to Zechs.

They reached Cat’s stop and walked the few blocks to his house, shouting merrily in a jostling group. Cat fished out his house key and pushed open the door, calling to the general house that he and his friends were home. Shouts emanated back from the kitchen and the upstairs. Quatre beckoned for his friends to follow him inside. They all dropped their school bags by the front door and wandered into the kitchen.

“Do you happen to have such a thing as a snack for famished teens?” Cat questioned the sister on hand.

“There are oranges and frozen pot stickers, make something for yourselves. By the way, I’m Sasha.” She said grinning. “I know you Trowa, of course, and I know some of the rest of you. But my memory is like a sieve, names?”

“Duo.” Duo introduced himself. Her eye’s gleamed,

“The nice neighbor boy! Cat told us you went to school with him again. Long time no see.” She gave him a brief hug and Duo tried not to blush too uncomfortably. She looked to the rest of them.

“Wufei.” Wufei offered a hand to be shaken.

“Heero.”

“Zechs.”

“Relena.” They all nodded, going around the blob ending with Hilde.

Quatre pulled his head out of the freezer, “Pot stickers sound good to everyone?” The general reply was of agreement. Cat popped a plate in the microwave.

“We should go out and pick apples next.” Cat instructed, “Then we’ll eat dinner and applesauce them. Sound good?” There was more agreement.

“I’m going to a class and I’ll be back late. Iria is up stairs and Sophie will be around.” Sasha informed them. “See you.” She exited, placing a kiss on Cat’s forehead on her way to the door.

The microwave pinged and Cat pulled out the plate. They all grabbed their pot stickers and stood around the kitchen eating them.

“Well,” Cat cleared his throat, “is everyone ready to go out and pick apples?” Duo nodded along with everyone else. They trouped down the basement, picking up a boom box and extension cord on their way. They brought the music and bags for apples out with them, unrolling the extension cord behind them. They put down their bags and took a moment to size up the tree.

“Alright, have at it.” Cat announced. Duo picked up a bag and ducked under the tree, reaching up to pick the nearest apple and dropped it in his bag. The others did the same thing, dispersing around the tree and pulling down apples. Trowa picked apples from where he was, half way up the tree, and handed them down to Quatre. Zechs, being the tallest one there, easily reached up and picked the apple Wufei had been jumping for. Wufei glared.

“You don’t have to rub it in.” He muttered.

“Just helping out.”

After an hour or so they had picked all the big ripe apples. That is, the ones they could get to. They picked up their respective bags and the radio before trekking back inside. They were just dropping their bags in the family room where the TV was located and shrugging off their shoes when the doorbell rang. It was Catharine and she stood on the stoop with a bag.

“Hey, I actually can’t stay, but I brought snacks.” She had some chips and soda.

“That’s cool. We’re about to get going on torturing apples.” Quatre grinned. “We get to cut them into wedges, peel their skins off, soak them in lemon juice, slice them and dice them, grind them down and boil their remaining flesh into sauce.”

Catherine raised an eyebrow, “Sounds like fun, I trust nothing was hurt in the processes of filming this movie?” she joked. “I really do have to go. Trowa, you can stay over, mom’s fine with it. See ya’ll later!” She hopped off the porch. Dorothy and Hilde took Catherine’s arrival as a reminder, it was 5 o’clock, and sadly called parents and left.

The rest of them ate dinner and sat down around the foot stool table where they were set up for apple killing. They picked up their corers and peelers and paring knives. Cat popped the movie in the VCR.

“Dead Poets Society.” He enlightened them. Duo hadn’t seen it before. He peeled the apple pieces Wufei handed him and dropped them in the lemon juice from which Heero would fish them out and cut them into quarters while they watched the movie.

By the time Wufei’s parents came to pick him up they had made roughly 25 quarts of applesauce. Zechs had planned to leave at dinner but rather purposefully forgotten his engagements. “Who cares if I skip class once? I can just tell dad I was hanging with Lena here. That’ll make him happy.” he shrugged when Cat questioned him. Relena and Zechs’ father thought the two hated each other for some reason and was always trying to force them to do things together. They didn’t mind but thought it was a little weird. Since they had already stayed longer then they had anticipated Zechs decided it wouldn’t matter if they returned home late. Cat got out a game of Scatergories for them to play, as it was his favorite.

They cleared up the game, Duo and Relena being un-useful with their proceeding tickle war, and Cat put in another movie. Duo hadn’t thought he’d ever really get to know her, they shared few classes and she mainly hung out with the girls in the group. But he had realized she was actually pretty cool. She could be a little bossy, but she had sly sense of humor, and slight of hand that Duo was growing to envy. She knew social graces by heart and took sadistic pleasure in correcting his posture, but now he knew she was just teasing. Relena also thought that Heero was eye candy. Duo just shook his head, what could she see in a reclusive guy like him? He was handsome, even Duo could see that, but still...

“I think I was a bit blatant about it. For all my elegance and elbows-off-the-table glory I don’t know the correct way to chase a guy.” Relena confessed. “I’m glad I don’t have to bother.” Duo quirked an eyebrow in question. “Dorothy.” Relena stated fondly. Duo ‘ahhed’. It made sense actually, he had wondered a little about their relationship. They weren’t as out there as Cat and Trowa, but maybe that was because girls were just naturally aloud to be more intimate friends with one another anyway.

“So you don’t have to worry.” She winked at him slyly. “You’d actually be a good match, you know.”

“What? Nu-uh.” Duo flailed wildly, Relena just shook her head. Cat turned to look at them.

“Shh…The rest of us are actually trying to watch the movie. What are you talking about anyway?” Relena stifled a chuckle at Duo’s panicked expression.

“Nothing.” Duo collected himself. Cat shook his head and retrained his eyes to the screen where a different movie was now playing, a young to-be priest was preaching about dead fish, angel fish and how the pew-sitters were like those screaming fish. Duo shook his head and tried to figure out what he had missed.

It was about ten thirty when the movie ended and Zechs and Relena took their leave. They stood around in the entry way watching the van pull away from the curb and waving till Quatre suggested they should grab their sleeping bags and set up shop in the basement.

Duo unfurled his sleeping bag. They put their heads together in the middle so that they created a circle.

Duo flopped down. “So, what’s the plan?” He turned a lazy eye to Cat.

“Well, I haven’t thought this far. I’m tired for one thing, but of course I don’t fall asleep till about twelve, so I have a while before I catch some shuteye.”

“Hn.” Heero put in from Duo’s other side as he smoothed out his sleeping bag.

“Exactly how I feel.” Duo agreed. Heero made a small choking sound, something like a laugh as Duo rolled over on his back, hands behind his head as if sun bathing and repeated. “Hn.”

Cat chuckled musically. “You mean you have absolutely no brain power and therefore can’t seem to make a sentence, no offense Duo but you have not mastered the art of ‘Hn’.”

“I just want to point out how lame a conversation this is.” Trowa put in.

“You’re quite right; we should get up and do something –except I don’t want to.” Cat agreed.

“I’ll second you there.” Duo sighed.

They lay doing absolutely nothing but enjoying each others silent company and occasional comment. Eventually necessity brought them to their feet and they went to the bathroom to brush teeth and wash faces. They all packed into the downstairs bathroom, unwilling to troop all the way up stairs. After everyone had brushed their teeth Cat kicked them out so he could change. Duo laughed as he shooed them out like annoying chickens,

“Yes even you Trowa.”

“You know I won’t care if you two share a sleeping bag so you don’t have to be coy around me. What do you say Heero.” Heero shrugged agreement. Duo raised his eyebrow at Trowa, who smirked right back.

“And if we do?” he asked.

“More power to you.” Duo affirmed.

Trowa shook his head. “You don’t have to worry, we won’t torment you.” Duo sniggered. Heero watched the exchange blandly.

“I personally have no problem, but what if Duo and I feel left out?” Duo blinked and held in his immediate response of letting his jaw hit the floor. Even Trowa looked surprised before he broke out laughing. Duo hadn’t realized it was a joke, but the small smile pulling on Heero’s mouth gave him away. Cat came out and joined them.

“Why should you feel left out?” Trowa left and slid the bathroom door closed behind him. Cat continued, “Actually, I read this interesting article in the newspaper about ‘cuddle parties’ now we’ve been doing them for years, ‘cept my sisters call them cuddle puddles. Funny, if we had realized we teenagers were so smart we could have marketed this earlier.” Heero chuckled. Duo blinked, a little out of the loop.

“You mean like in elementary school when they’d build a fort and piles of blankets for us to sleep in?”

“Something like that. It’s a tradition that got started on one of the school camping trip type things. We were all supposed to bring sleeping bags, but when someone once forgot their so we just got blankets and a pillow and made a nest. Then eventually at bigger parties we x-ed everything but a few blankets and pillows and substituted other people for warmth and cushion. Of course sometime someone gets sat on or a bit to twisted up. Mind you, this is all pretty platonic, minus Trowa and myself and Noin and Zechs and Sally and Wufei.” Cat assured. “Really we had half the class sleeping on the floor in a pile at one of the movie night things. It can actually be quite comfortable… sometimes.” Duo nodded slowly, to show his half understanding.

“Except for that time when Relena tried hitting on me.” Heero shook his head and mock shivered.

“Hey, she’s not so bad.” Duo was compelled to say. Cat turned a quizzical look to him.

“You like her?” Heero said cautiously. “I guess she’s not so bad now that she’s with Dorothy. That girl was really good for her.” Heero admitted.

“Yeah, I like her. She’s cool; we have a lot in common.” Duo stated with a shrug.

Trowa immerged from the bathroom and Duo took his exit.

 

**6**

They trooped back to the basement. Cat flopped down and Trowa slid down next to him.

“We don’t have to if you don’t want to, but you should really read that article. I cut it out. You can see it in the morning.” Quatre patted the space next to him. Duo dubiously lay down. Cat wiggled a bit to get comfortable, propped up against Trowa. Duo breathed deeply trying to settle himself a bit, and then snuggled closer to Cat, burying his head in the crook of Cat’s elbow.

“I think we’ve found another cuddle bug.” Cat’s giggled, his stomach muscles jarring the side of Duo’s head.

“Mphm.” Duo protested. Cat chuckled again. Heero lay down next to Duo. Duo immediately went taut.

“Easy.” Quatre whispered in his ear, patting Duo’s head, “You’re just fine, this is a cuddle puddle. Remember when we all did this, Solo too when we were little?” Duo thought of Solo and began to relax. He turned a bit to face Heero and grinned like a child, opening his arms. Heero looked at him a little oddly hesitating only a moment, and then accepted the offer. Duo snuggled a little closer to Cat, wrapping his fingers so that rested lightly on Heero’s arm.

“G’nite.” He mumbled.

“Good night.” Cat echoed.

“Hmm.” Trowa breathed.

“’night Duo.” Heero whispered. Duo raised an eye lid but could not see Heero’s face in the dark. He shut his eyes again and drifted off to sleep snuggled close with his friend is pile of pillows and sleeping bags covered by a few blankets.

The next morning came around eleven forty; Duo woke up to late morning sun streaming through the windows and buried his face into his pillow. His pillow sighed and shifted. Duo’s eyes snapped open onto Heero’s neck. Duo blinked, once, twice, confused as to how he had got there. Then Cat’s words came back to him and he smiled, snuggling back into Heero’s shoulder. Thinking about Quatre made Duo wondered where the boy was, but he decided to ignore that. He tried to fall asleep again. That plan was thwarted by the fact that Heero was lying rather painfully on his arm. Duo sighed, wriggling. He eased his arm out from underneath the other boy just as Heero sat up.

“I thought you were awake.” Heero commented.

Duo wrinkled his nose. “That’s debatable,” he yawned.

“Cat’s up and about, making breakfast I think. Trowa’s still sleeping, but he woke up earlier for a while. He’ll get up soon. We were waiting for you.”

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Duo prodded.

“You sleep like a stone angel.” Duo didn’t know how to take that comment. “Cat said to let you sleep in.” Heero explained.

“Ah, kind of him.” Duo stretched. “So when is this breakfast?” he asked. As if on cue Quatre poked his head into the basement.

“Anybody ready for breakfast?” He called. “Rise and Sh-” he started to shout, but then caught sight of Duo surrounded by blankets and looking very sleepy. “Oh. Sleeping Beauty hungry yet?”

“Starved.” Duo responded.

“So am I.” Trowa sat up. “By the way, which of us were you talking too?”

“Both, since you’re both beautiful, of course. Are you coming, it’ll get cold!” Cat disappeared back up the stairs and they rose to follow him.

They sat around the breakfast table happily tucking away breakfast, at least Duo and Cat were. Trowa was eating a slightly smaller portion, not being a major morning eater, and Heero was eating even less, content to nibble on an orange and a bagel. After breakfast they cleared their dishes and put away the pile of blankets in the basement. They trooped up to Quatre’s room to wait till parents arrived.

Cat’s door was decorated with various pictures of friends and pieces of art. Duo stood and read all the quotes stuck hither and thither over its face.

“Cool huh?” Cat asked. “Trowa and I did it a while back.” Duo nodded. He liked it all.

“These are really neat; do you have a list of quotes I could steal from you?”

Cat grinned, “Sure.” They pushed into his room, “Ignore the mess.” Cat said slightly self consciously. Duo looked around and shrugged.

“Don’t worry my room’s worse.” He said with a note of wry amusement. They all plopped down on Cat’s bed and Cat sat in his computer chair, nudging the machine into life with his foot. Heero had picked up a book from the floor and was reading it. Trowa was watching Cat and Duo found himself a bit at a loss.

“Com’ere” Cat motioned and Duo knee marched over to peer at the screen.

“Here’s the list of quotes, I have two versions.” Cat explained scrolling, “Ones my favorites, the other is the full blown list. Which one do you want?”

“I’ll take the one in full.” Duo offered.

Cat nodded and asked, “Do you have a memory card…I mean flash drive…or is it a zip drive…you know those thingymagummies?” Duo laughed at Cat’s confused flailing. He did have one, but he hadn’t brought it with him. “How about I email this to you?” Cat decided. Duo agreed looking at the list.

“Where’d you get all these?”

“Oh” Cat seemed a bit beamish, “I’m a major fanfic fiend.” Cat said with a self-deprecating smile. Duo raised an eyebrow. He knew what fanfic was but had never found any of it to be good or anything more then pointless graphic junk.

“You mean there’s some worth reading?” He asked genuinely. Cat’s eyes widened.

“An Innocent!” He crowed. “Oh you poor deprived dear, we must remedy this at once.” His eyes were sparkling and Trowa, leaning over Cat’s other side tried not to wind up beside himself with laughter.

“What should he read first?” Quatre considered, his expression grew concentrated and he listed off a few titles and authors. He nodded to himself. His fingers meanwhile, frisked over the keyboard and creating a new file and dropping the documents in. Duo was bemused, getting to see this thing about his friend he hadn’t noticed. Heero and Trowa even offered a few titles.

“You should really enjoy this one. Okay, I won’t give you anymore. But you have to tell me what you think.” Cat finished, saving the file. Duo nodded.

“He likes to know details.” Trowa chimed in. Wrapping an arm around Cat’s shoulders and sliding into his lap as the boy tried to turn off the computer. “What you particularly thought was amusing. He can go on for hours about a specific scene. Don’t ever laugh or say something when you’re reading and he’s around unless you want to give a full explanation, and if you’re his friend and he laughs at something be sure to ask about what or else he gets sad.” Trowa smirked.

Cat playfully glared at him, “I’m not necessarily like that you generalizer, you.”

“Don’t trust him. He really can be that bad.” Heero said a hint of a smile in his voice. Duo looked over to where he was sprawled on the bed. Heero propped his head up on his hand, book laid out before him, but neglected, his eyes almost grinning at the protesting Cat and smirking Trowa. Within the past few hours he saw more emotion from Heero then he had ever before. Maybe he was just getting to know him better; maybe this was what Heero was like around his friends. Whatever it was Duo hopped it would carry over to Monday.

His hopes however, though not thoroughly dashed, were laid to rest. Heero seemed as detached on Monday as he had been so far that school year. He wasn’t unfriendly, but he didn’t go out of his way to create a conversation. They compared notes on the Piper Cub and started to format a speech they could easily rattle off to people interested in the plane. Duo flipped his last note card over and looked at the blank underside. “Lunch?” he asked. Heero nodded, stacking his note cards in a neat pile on the table, standing up and stretching. Duo watched out of the corner of his eye, there was a faint hint of a pleased expression that made him hopeful.

 

**7**

The final project came and went and with the end of the semester came a break. This year break fell on the week of Halloween. Usually Halloween was a school night, but not this year. Duo’s foster family had considered going away but he had refused. His foster parents decided maybe they’d take a parental get away instead and leave their foster son at his best friends, so Duo found himself occupying Cat’s place for the first half of the week, and Halloween. They had discussed plans for costumes at school, but Duo was still unsure if his would be ready in time. They had thought of going as the four horse men. Duo of course was Death. Quatre said he could be famine ‘skinny enough as it is and pale, not to hard to pull off’ but nobody else volunteered. Trowa could be War, but didn’t really want to and Wufei was also probably going to go trick or treating with them. Then Trowa suggested they go as the Seven Deadly Sins, sticking to the biblical theme. But nobody really wanted to identify as a sin and the costumes would be kinda complicated so they gave up on that idea too. The last suggestion of the day had been Sally’s comment that they’d all look great as the Sailor Scouts, an idea nobody took seriously. Well, maybe Cat considered it, pointing out Duo did almost have long enough hair to be Serena, but the idea was shot dead quite quickly.

Duo flopped on Cat’s bed. “Okay, any new ideas before the day of decision is upon us?” Cat screwed up his face in a thinking look, twitching his lips from left to right as he had a habit of when considering something, whether it be the cost of movies or the right costume for Halloween.

“Well, who for sure do we know is going? I talked with Trowa and he’s of course coming. Wufei wanted to but might be out of town, but Sally definitely wanted to join us. I didn’t really get to talk with the rest of the guys…” Cat trialed off. He tapped the tip of his pencil against the bare sheet of paper for brainstorming costumes, other then acquiring a series of little gray lines and dots it stayed blank.

“Well, we don’t necessarily have to go as a related group.” Duo offered. Cat shook his head.

“Being a group like that is part of the fun. We need to find a good TV show or movie or something. What have you read recently?” Duo pondered.

“We’ll in English we’re starting the Scarlet Letter right?”

“No. That won’t do. Well I guess we can go unrelated. We’ll be a walking mishmash.” Cat sighed. Duo rolled his eyes. Cat would fixate on an idea and want everything to be perfect especially when it came to costumes.

“I’ll send out the word and see who all’s coming.”

The night of Halloween arrived. Duo was going as Death, unoriginal yes, but he had a killer costume, partially due to Quatre’s help. Cat had been dithering about his own costume up until the last day.

“What am I going to do? We have two hours till sundown and I can’t find a costume.” he wailed.

“Why couldn’t you have just bought something?” Duo moaned, watching his friend tearing through the closet again.

“That’s stupid, who wants a measly little pre-made costume. They look tacky. Arg!” Duo would not have been surprised if Cat had begun to pull out his hair at this point. Thankfully a knock at the door interrupted them. Duo ran down the stairs to get it. Trowa stood on the stoop.

“I take it I’m the first one here.” He said as Cat’s howls drifted down the stairs.

“You’re his boyfriend,” Duo said, grabbing Trowa’s arm and dragging him in, “you figure out how to help him. I’m horrible at this costume stuff, you’re the one who worked at a circus last summer, get the guy to wear _something_.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Trowa smiled, taking the stairs two at a time. Duo went to the bathroom to finish off his costume.

Quatre and Trowa emerged an hour later. Duo had since given up inquiring at the door. Instead he was waiting around and was flipping through the channels on the TV when they entered the room.

“Holy shit!” he jumped up off the couch. Cat stood, a little wary and self conscious, but Trowa prodded him forward.

“This something?” Trowa asked with a smile, “I figured I’d give him a costume to go with mine.” Cat turned at Duo’s motion so he could see the whole costume. Every inch of visible skin was dusted with green and gold glitter. There were fake leaves strung through his golden hair, and little berries. A tiny curling vine crept down along one side of his face, which had also been dusted with glitter, only the gold sort though. He wore a simple white tunic with green embroidery. It was sleeveless and on his bare arms were painted on tattoos of leaves and vines in shades of green with gold accents. The neck of the tunic was a boat neck with a little dip cut out of it, mimicking the renaissance style, with two strings hanging down. It came to a v at the bottom, hanging out over a green kilt. Beneath the kilt his legs were clad in sparkling gold and cream leggings. Duo had to wonder how long Trowa had premeditated this to find all the parts of the costume. The whole outfit was draped over with vegetation. And on his back two little wings, green and very leaf like, were attached to his shoulders. Unable to find any straps Duo searched till he noticed the green pins that held them to the shirt. The whole effect of the costume was that of a shimmering forest, or maybe a meadow sprite. The costume had a light feel too it.

“I bow to you oh costume god and subduer of Cats.” Duo intoned. Trowa laughed.

“It was the least I could do, I know how he gets.”

“Hey, I’m still in the room you know.” Cat grumbled. Trowa looked as if he was about to ruffle Cat’s hair, but thought better of it, so as not to muss his creation, and patted Cat’s shoulder instead. Trowa’s costume was a darker then Quatre’s. He wore brown leggings and a green vest that looked to be of something like soft leather. His arms were decorated with the same sort of green tattoo work, but without the gold accents. In fact he was almost completely minus sparkle. He did have the wings though, slightly bigger then Cat’s and in more fall hues, they stood out the most, and were echoed by one fire opal earring.

“I haven’t seen that one before.” Duo pointed at it.

“It’s actually one of my sister’s,” Cat confessed. “We’re borrowing it for tonight. When I saw the wings I knew it would be perfect.” They really did make quite a fetching couple. Duo was keeping track of time though, Sally would be arriving any minute and then they’d go pick up the others.

“You should grab some bags for candy.” He reminded them as he went to answer the now ringing doorbell.

Sally and Wufei joined their group. Wufei looked decidedly unhappy in his pirate costume. It was actually quite fetching, Wufei had great legs, which he never showed with his baggy pants, so wearing pants that cut off at the knees was a nice look. Sally the pirate wench was thoroughly enjoying herself. She was loud and pirate-ish with occasional mutters of “arrrr”, her arm slung jovially around Wufei. They left Cat’s house and went to pick up Heero. Duo had never been to Heero’s house and was kind of excited. It was a small one floor apartment and on the ground level so they just went up and knocked on the screen door that lead out to the hedged front yard. Duo peered inside; the first thing that caught his eye was the dishwasher. It was sitting in the middle of the hall.

“Heero, you’re friends are here!” they heard his mother yell. A door banged open somewhere and a little three foot girl streaked over to the door, edging her way by the washer. She undid the latch and pulled the door open.

“Hi Crissy.” Quatre smiled, leaning down. She gazed up eyes wide.

“Are you a fairy?” she asked, her voice holding a note of awe.

“Actually, I’m supposed to be a ‘sprite’ but fairy will do. Is your brother coming?” She nodded vigorously. Heero appeared around the corner. He looked very menacing. _I guess I have a contender for most black_ , Duo thought to himself. Heero was wearing a black leather trench coat, a tight black high-neck t-shirt, black _leather_ pants and black combat boots, all topped off by black sunglasses.

“Matix are we?” Trowa questioned.

“Mr. Anderson? No. Just some random person from the Animatrix. They all look like this right?” Heero shrugged, pulling the dishwasher out of the way and rolling it around a corner. Duo couldn’t help himself.

“What’s with the dishwasher?”

“Doesn’t fit in the kitchen when there’s people in there, so it gets rolled around to wherever we want till we actually need to use it. Either the tables up, or the dishwasher is.” Heero explained. Grabbing a bag from beside the door and giving Crissy a quick hug.

“When’ll I get to trick or treat with you guys?” she whined.

“Maybe next year?” Cat offered and Heero sent him a glare over her head.

As they walked down the block away from his house porch lights started to come on, it was almost dark. They had just one more stop before the night’s festivities would begin.

“I never knew you had a sister.” Duo offered.

“Eh, she’s a brat.”

“She’s really quite sweet.” Cat said from Heero’s other side. “Heero babies her, it’s hilarious.” Heero growled a little. “She can be a little annoying in her overly sweet way, and a little whiny some times, but I wish my sisters were more like that. What I’d give so they wouldn’t pick on me and pull pranks…”Quatre trailed off.

“A little bit whiny. You try living with her, especially when there’s something she wants.”

“I think it’s great you have siblings.” Duo put in, “I was an only child for a long time, I mean I still am. When I was really little I always wanted a sibling. Siblings are the greatest I think. It’s nice sometimes to have someone like that. Someone I’m related to. Guess I’ll never truly have that though...” Heero threw him an odd look. But whatever question was on his lips was left unasked as they arrived at Relena’s house. The two girls were already out front.

“Hey, long time no see!” called Dorothy as she waltzed down the steps. She wore a double breasted blue coat, almost military with epilates, and lots of gold ribbing. She had straight legged pants of a cream color, and a sword that looked surprisingly real in one hand. Under her other arm she had a white plushy pony. Relena looked only slightly like she was wearing a wedding dress. She had a white dress with elbow length gloves, her hair was in a braided pile on her head and she also wore a crown.

“So you guys are?” Sally prompted.

“Is it not obvious? Prince charming and…”

“I think we decided I look most like Cinderella.” Relena finished.

“That explained the white horse.” Cat said sagely. Dorothy nodded.

“A pair of sprites, two pirates, Prince and Princess Charming, random Matrix guy and Death. Great group we’ve got here.” Duo summarized. Sally whooped, pumping a fist in the air.

“Brigade attack I want a full bag of candy and then some before the night is through!”

 

**8**

Sally did wind up with her full bag. They all did. Cat had perfected trick or treating to an exact science. He knew which houses to go to. Most people walked the main drag but Cat took to the side streets with a vengeance journeying down the deepest cul-de-sacs to the houses visited by few. Often they would hand out much more candy, buying the same amount as the houses above, but with far less people to give it too. Duo was surprised by how well it worked. They often paired off into teams, running to assigned houses so that all could be hit on a street, they gave out far more then enough sweets. They all returned to Cat’s house about eleven, pouring their bags out on the carpet of the living room.

“Okay, I hate laffy taffy, so don’t give me any. Whoever wants mine can have it.”

“I call Snickers!” Trowa put in.

“You can’t have them all.” Wufei protested as the two began dealing out equal measurements. Duo watched the proceedings with interest. Quickly people put corners on their favorites and offered up what they disliked. He leaped into the fray, scouring the piles for musketeer bars which no one had claimed yet. By the end of the frenzy they all had about equal piles of candy sitting in front of them and the intervening floor was clean save for one lonely box of Haals cough drops. And a tooth brush.

“I wonder if those were both intentionally given. Some adults are just weird.” Sally groused.

“Who wants to bet they’re dentists.” Dorothy joked, reaching for the cough drops. “I don’t want a sore throat for choir right?” she explained. Cat shrugged.

“I don’t want em.” Everybody else agreed and Dorothy dropped the bag on top of her pile of candy.

“Well that’s a wrap.” She declared. Everybody sat back admiring their loot, then methodically stuffed it back in their bags and one by one went to call parental units for pick up.

“That was fun.” Duo commented to no one in particular. “We should definitely do this again next year.” The rest of the room gave general agreement. Dorothy’s parents arrived shortly and picked the girls up. They’d drop Relena off on the way home. Sally could walk home, but Dorothy’s dad said he’d just drop her off too. Wufei’s mother arrived a few minutes after that but spent an hour in the kitchen talking with Cat’s oldest sister while the boys played video games. She eventually called down the stairs to collect Wufei. Then just the four of them were left. Duo hadn’t actually been playing the game since the first few rounds and he and Cat talked idly while the other two tried to shoot each other first. Finally Trowa admitted defeat.

“You’re too good Yuy. Anybody up for a game of cards? I need to beat someone at something.” He groaned.

“I think not buddy, don’t want my card shark reputation ruined.” Duo declined.

“I know!” Cat exclaimed, “We can play strip poker.” Duo pantomimed whacking him over the head.

“I think not. You’re a wonderful guy Cat but I _don’t_ need to see you naked.” Duo turned to the other two, “When are you guys going home anyways?” Trowa looked at his watch which read 12:06

“I’m not. My mother knows I’m probably over here. It’d be a pain for her to come get me at this hour. I’ll just stay.” He shrugged. They all looked expectantly at Heero.

“Well, I couldn’t get through to my mom. The phone machine died again. It’s too late to walk home. She’d kill me if I did. If I can I’ll just stay here?”

“Um…okay.” Quatre agreed, turning to the other two. “Okay with you two?” Trowa shrugged. Duo wouldn’t have even thought of saying no, and didn’t.

“Sure! The more the merrier, right?” Cat nodded agreement.

Cat had a big house. It looked big no matter what angle you saw it from. The front was wide and two stories tall, it often reminded Duo of the pictures he’d seen of old southern plantations, only maybe a little smaller. All the previous times he’d had sleepovers at Cat’s, when they were little, they’d slept upstairs. Back then Cat’s bed would dwarf them, it still could probably fit three people, but Duo was glad they were going to the basement. As nice as Cat’s down comforters and massive bed were, he didn’t fancy sleeping in the same bed as Cat and Trowa, even if they did promise to keep to themselves. Cat’s downstairs was furnished like the rest of the house. It was less of a basement, more just another floor. There were pull-out futon couches, and a thick shag carpet. One of Cat’s many sisters’ pianos sat in a corner, next to his mother’s organ. Cat played them all, of course, but only the organ was officially “his”. It was a gift for his thirteenth birthday and had taken forever to learn to play. The piano was technically Amrah’s, but she let him play it too. The basement functioned as both a music room and a teen hang out, with big screen TV and space to lie about.

They pulled out the two futons. Cat and Trowa claimed one to be theirs and Duo and Heero were left standing, uncertain and looking at each other. Neither had thought to bring a sleeping bag.

“I could sleep on the floor?” Duo offered.

“Um…” Heero glanced around at the carpet.

“I could go dig out a sleeping bag. I’m sure there’s one at least buried somewhere up in the attic.” Cat offered.

“Uhuh, and when would we get it by?” Duo pointed out. They’d played in the attic as kids, it was stuffed to the roof with boxes and the Winner family held group excavations when they finally really needed a specific item. Some stuff was easy to find. If often used it could be dug out expediently, if not, you were in for a long search. Duo had experienced those long searches first hand.

“I don’t really mind.” Heero spoke up. He looked between the other three, rolling his shoulders in a shrug. “Long as you don’t kill or kick me in my sleep.” He addressed Duo.

“I swear. No first degree murder.” He said, hand over heart. Cat whacked him with a pillow. “Hey! What was that for?” Duo squawked.

“I don’t have to explain the method to my madness.” Cat said sticking out his tongue.

“Oh really?” Duo launched his pillow. It just missed Cat and struck Trowa, sitting right behind him, square on the nose.

“This means war!” came Cat’s cry. Trowa grabbed the abandoned pillow and started to whack Quatre.

“Hey!”

“Every man for himself.” He explained and expertly beaned the side of Duo’s face. Before long pillows were flying with terrifying speed. Whoops carried up from the basement. And Cat was once again glad there were so many floors between them and his father’s room.

They finally quieted down around three. Lolling over on the futons like discarded dolls and still occasionally shaking with laughter. Cat was propped up against Trowa, and Duo partially on the floor, connected to the futon by his feet. He struggled upright, twisting around in the blanket he’d become ensconced in. He fell fully forward with a thud and rolled around to a sitting position, resting up against the futon.

“So.”

“Hmmm?” Trowa returned, carding his fingers through Cat’s hair. Duo watched them with a smile. They really were quite adorable. On a whim he got up and ran to the mantel. With a deft flick the TV came to life, thankfully on mute. Duo quickly found the station he was looking for. One of the odd ones that blew down from Canada, it showed a burning log on the giant screen.

“It’s a bit big, but since we can’t light a real fire…at least it’ll give some of the ambience.”

Trowa laughed, “I’ve heard about this station, they play a fire almost all the time right?” Duo nodded. It did give the room a pretty light though. A warm flicker that instilled everything with calm and gold. It reminded Duo of camping, though he’d only gone a few times. He looked over at where Heero was sitting on the futon. He was actually pensively staring at the screen, as if somehow able to absorb warmth, like from a real fire. It definitely made things beautiful Duo decided.

“Hn?” Heero turned, inquiring, to Duo’s gaze. Duo shook his head.

“Nada.” Heero let his gaze wander back to the fire. Duo stood up, stretched, and sat back down on the futon. He pulled the blanket up to his chin, grabbing another from the base of the futon and spreading it out over the width, Heero could crawl under it if he wanted too. He then fluffed his pillow and plopped down upon it with a sigh. The flickering light on the wall, and the sight of Heero, just on the edge of his vision, sitting, statue-like on his pillow was the last thing he remembered before he fell asleep.

He wasn’t asleep long, and it must not have been very deep, because a shifting of weight on the futon woke him up. Cat was leaning over him to talk with Heero.

“We’re just going off for a bit. Baby-sit this one while we’re out. Make sure he doesn’t actually burn the house down.” Cat said. His voice was light, but with an intonation that Duo was unable to decipher as joking or not.

“Mission accepted.” Heero replied, wryly.

“Hey!” Duo grumbled as the door clicked shut behind the departing two. “I’ve never really tried to burn his house down. Seriously the only time I came close was an accident, they only had to replace a bit of the carpet anyways.”

“You’re awake?”

“Barely.” Duo affirmed. Rolling onto an elbow he looked over to Heero. He was still sitting as he had been. His eyes quickly adjusted to the dim light given off by a two small wall plug-ins by the door.

“How long?”

“Hm…an hour at most? Not very long. They turned off the log. Cat said the flickering was driving him nuts. I thought it was nice actually. Can turn it on if you’d like.”

“Only if you want to. Aren’t you cold?” Duo asked. Cat’s family may have been rich, but his father did not believe in heating bills. “If you wanted to be warm you can bundle up.” Cat often quoted.

“Now that you mention it…” Heero frowned, rubbing his arms self consciously. Duo sat up with a start, paused a moment for his head to stop swimming and grabbed another blanket. He threw it over the one already down, and pulled it up so Heero could come in.

“I tend to run cold. So I have another. You can always grab a few of your own.” Duo explained. Heero looked wary, but then seemed to resolve and slid in beside him. Duo shivered as Heero’s feet accidentally brushed his.

“You’re an ice cube! How do you do that? I’d be complaining loudly.”

“I guess I don’t notice unless someone points it out to me.” Heero shrugged.

“Well, you can always grab another blanket.”

“You said that.”

“Oh, well, it’s a good idea.” Duo drowsily muttered, sliding his head back to the pillow. Silence fell and Duo contented himself with just looking at Heero’s face. Eventually Heero asked,

“What’s so interesting?”

“Huh?”

“You’ve been staring at me.”

“Oh, I guess I have. Dunno’ I just do that sometimes. Not a bad place to rest the eyes. I’m just tried. Ignore me while I space out.” Duo rambled, rolling over onto his back. The one unfinished part of the basement was the ceiling. Somewhere along the line a previous owner had started to do something to it, texturing called pop corning, but had stopped only three or four feet into the process. They had used asbestos in the process and now the texture in the right hand corner of the room could not be removed. But the rest of the ceiling was without texture, prepped, with sealant and swaths of base paint along junctures in the boards and construction patterns Duo could not understand. He looked at it as one would at clouds, leading to his next comment.

“There’s a giraffe.”

“What?” Heero turned, confused. Duo pointed up.

“You see, how you get the neck, that line there, and sort of sponged in feet. That darker circle could be an eye.”

Heero stared, “Hn. I guess I see what you’re saying; I’d say it’s a wolf though.”

“That’d be a really long tail, with a kink at the end, but I guess you could see it that way.” They stared at the ceiling. Each of them pointing out and disputing animals and trees as they saw them.

“It’s a fish.”

“It bears no resemblance to a fish whatsoever.”

“You’re just blind.”

“Am not.”

“My eyesight is better then yours.”

“So?”

“I need glasses.”

“Really?” Heero asked, turning his attention of the debated ceiling. Duo squirmed.

“Uh, yeah actually. Just for long distance. But whenever I start driving I need to get them. I can’t read the street signs very well you know.”

“I never would have guessed.”

“Well I don’t need them for school and I don’t actually have a pair yet. Just the doctor report says that I aught to buy a pair. I never really wanted glasses though.”

“I always thought glasses were cool.”

“No kidding?”

“My mother wears glasses, supposedly I may too someday. Some of them look nice.” Heero offered. Duo smiled in return. There was a pause, and then Heero whispered, “Wufei wears glasses.”

“No shit! You’re kidding me.” Duo’s eyes bugged, trying to imagine the Chinese boy in glasses. The image floated into his mind rather easily. It wasn’t hard to picture the guy wearing them, whether flashing with anger and righteous passion, or engrossed in a book. “Huh, that actually makes sense.” He turned just in time to catch Heero’s grin. It was fleeting, but a very nice look on him. Duo was about to say something, probably put his foot in his mouth with some comment on it. Anything to see that whisper of a smile again, but was cut of before he could begin by the snik of the door opening.

“You guys are still awake?” Trowa murmured.

“Yup.” Duo replied, turning towards the door.

“When’d you wake up?” Cat asked, padding back to his futon.

“Just as you guys left. Where’d you go?” Duo asked and looked at his watch, “You’ve been gone 2 and…a half hours?” he was surprised by the amount of time that had passed. It felt like much shorter. _It’s really late, guess you’re slow when you stay up sleepy, things happen more slowly,_ he thought.

“Around and about. We went and watched the sun come up.”

“Wha? Shit. I should be asleep.” Duo groaned, flopping over, and almost landing on Heero who quickly moved over.

“Eh, it’s not a school day.” Cat answered. “Who cares? But you’re right; you should probably get some sleep.” The two disappeared into the pile of blankets, only Cat’s hair was left poking out. It seemed to shine on its own in the dark that fell now all the lights had finally been shut off. Duo turned away from the other two and snuggled down into his pillow.

“Night guys.” He whispered. From behind him the only answer was gentle breathing.

“Night Duo.” Heero murmured, almost half asleep himself.

“Night Heero.” Duo returned, a last sigh before true sleep claimed him. He almost imagined he could hear the first birds singing just above and outside where the sun was already easing the rest of the world awake.

“Oh my god. Never let me pull an all-nighter.” Duo moaned upon awakening. He relaxed and lay back from his feeble attempt to lift his head from the pillow. That had been a bad idea. His forehead throbbed with lack of sleep. Some vague edge of thought commented that this was probably something like having a hang over, something he had yet to experience, and if this was what to go by, he didn’t want to. Then with a start he realized he’d rested back against something not the bed. _What._ Behind him, Heero stirred, but only to nestle a little closer. Heero’s nose barely brushed the back of Duo’s neck. He thought for a minute he was going to implode with laughter from the sensation of Heero’s deep nasal breathing across the tiny hairs at the nape of his neck. Heero shifted again and Duo was able to let out his held breath without a trace of mirth. It was not an unpleasant sensation, having Heero there behind him. He wondered how long they’d been curled up like this. Heero shifted and rolled in the opposite direction. Duo felt a bit bereft, but as he watched Heero shifted again. Apparently the boy couldn’t keep still. Duo wondered if Heero was ever still for more then five minutes when asleep, and if he had been doing this slow shifting all night. Heero could be so stock-still and statuesque in the day, this nightly dance was almost funny. Duo sat up a bit, letting the blanket slip off his shoulders, still clutching the one of his own, but letting the other two settle their full weight across Heero’s prone form. He was really gorgeous Duo admitted. He felt the odd urge to brush Heero’s bangs away from his face. Instead he sat, sentinel to Heero’s sleep, and watched contented.

Not for long though. Five or six minutes later Quatre came bouncing in. The boy had more morning energy then should be allowed a light bulb. He sang,

“Wake up, wake up you sleepy head. Get up get up get out of bed. Cheer up, cheer up the sun is red. Live, love, laugh and be happy!”

“Can you _not_ be a ray of sunshine?” Duo protested.

“Sorry, I’m the wakey wakey crew. So, what do you want for breakfast this fine afternoon?” He grinned at Duo’s bedraggled glare and Heero’s more wakeful, grouchy stirring. “We’ve got bacon and eggs, sausage, cereal, waffles, and I could probably scrounge up pancakes, or an omelet, though that’d probably be considered eggs.”

“Do you ever eat just an apple or a _small_ breakfast, not a grand affair?” Duo groused.

“Nope. Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day. My mother supposedly always said that…not that I’d know!” Cat said, not letting melancholy appear on his face as it threatened to in his overly cheery voice. With a less strained and more normally hyper Cat tone he continued, “Sides you work up hunger sleeping all the time, it’s hard work you know? You need to give your body fuel. Bet you’re feeling really blarg right?” Cat motioned with his hands, trying to describe, and doing a perfectly good rendition, of Duo’s waking feeling.

“I’m actually feeling a little better.”

“I’m glad you can say that.” Heero muttered as he sat up and gained his bearings.

“Well, food, sugar especially, can help, give you a little kick to start the day. Right?” Cat prodded. Duo found his grin.

“Well, that doesn’t sound so bad.”

“Not. for. me.” Heero glared at Quatre, “You know I don’t like that sticky sap on my food, or even near it. I think I’ll have something nice and sour, minus the added cups of strychnine.”

“Heero, sugar is not strychnine.”

“Only in the morning.” He said in a serious tone. Cat laughed anyway and ran up the stairs, calling an order of some-sort to the occupier of the kitchen, probably Trowa.

“Sleep well?” Duo asked, finally standing, though still wrapped in his blanket.

“Fine. You?”

“Like a rock. I don’t usually wake very easily. My mother used to say I could sleep through a heavy metal performance. I apparently actually did when I was very little. My hearing has never been the same.”

“Really?”

“No. My hearings fine. But, yes I did sleep through the Last Exiles when I was one and a half or something like that. I don’t know how the Father knows all these stories, but apparently my biological mother went to his church before…” Duo trailed off. Heero looked unsure whether to press a question. He had some idea of Duo’s past from talk at school and friends but that didn’t qualify as real knowledge in his mind. He let the moment pass.

“Come on, I actually am pretty hungry.” He bounded for the stairs. His megawatt grin was already in place. Heero had the slight feeling that somehow he was fleeing the room.

The kitchen upstairs was bright and cheery. One of Cat’s many sisters had claimed it as her room to decorate and it had a very unique style. The slanted ceiling of the room was painted blue as sky with puffy white clouds drifting across it. There was one sky light almost at the juncture of the slant showing the gray rain clouds lording over the outside world. The walls of the kitchen were a light butter yellow and the wall space between the cabinets and the counter was painted in a tile pattern. The first time Duo had seen it he’d thought it had been real. One touch was enough to verify it as just a master paint work, but it was still fun to look at, a yellow cream color with every other center containing a blue flower or a pair of red cowboy boots. Cat sat at one of the high stools by the counter that separated the functional area of the kitchen from the adjacent area for tables and chairs. Trowa leaned on the other side of the counter. It was wide enough that often it would be used for a table, rather then the actual one. Cat was happily sipping away at his tea and nibbling biscotti, the remains of syrup, the only sign of the pancakes and sausage that had graced his plate. Trowa shoved off the counter and turned his attention to the newcomers.

“Pancakes are on the griddle there, they haven’t gotten too cold yet, syrup’s on the table, and sausage is by the pancakes.” Duo immediately set to work building his creation. “Yuy, want a grapefruit? We have rice too if you’d like. Or toast?”

“A grapefruit and toast would be fine.”

“How can you like those vile things?” Duo asked from where he was buried in the refrigerator. “I can’t stand grapefruit unless you add sugar, and that sometimes doesn’t even help. Ah!” he stood back, “here it is!” He returned to the counter with a container of whip cream and proceeded to liberally smother his waffle. Heero shook his head in disgust.

“Your teeth are going to rot and fall out.”

“Nice to know you care.” Duo mumbled around his overfilled mouth.

Heero winced. “Just pointing out the obvious. Do you really enjoy whipped cream on your sausage?”

Cat and Duo shared a look and chorused “Everything’s better with sugar.”

“Solo always used to say that.” Cat explained to Trowa.

“Solo?”

“My bro.” Duo said around another mouthful, “Can tuck away more then even I can.”

“You should have seen his plate.” Cat laughed, “Heero would have blown a gasket. Piled ceiling high, whip cream, strawberries. And sausage.”

“Are you sure you’re not exaggerating?” Trowa drawled.

“Not by much.” Duo verified with a shake of his head.

“What happened?” Heero asked softly. Duo’s smile stilled, becoming more plastic. Cat’s laughter faded, turning quizzically to Duo. He hadn’t heard the full story.

“Oh, well we went our separate way’s I guess.” His cheer was forced and he quickly took another big bite as an excuse to keep from talking. Cat knew better.

“Helen?” Duo’s eyes flashed wide, his head twitched the faintest of nods. He swallowed.

“You know, I’m not all that hungry. Want the rest of mine?” He shoved his plate across the table at Heero who still looked confused, and concerned. “I’m going to go…I’ll be outside.” Duo cut out. He shoved his chair back and quickly left the room. Heero stared at his abandoned plate.

“Helen?”

“Was his foster mother when I knew him. They were with her for years. We were maybe five when we met. They all moved away when they were about eleven. She went to live with her Uncle Maxwell. Maxwell had known Duo’s mother apparently so she wanted Duo at least to get to know him. I didn’t see him again till this year. If he’s back, and without Helen…well nothing short of death could have separated them. She loved those kids like they were her own.” Heero’s face was blank and Trowa had a deep, sad look.

“It’s really hard when you don’t know your family.” Trowa murmured. “If I had never met Catherine again after the divorce… I thought I had lost her and mom forever.”

“I never even knew my mom. It must be so much worse for Duo. He has the worst of both our cases. He never knew his mother, and the mother and brother he did come to love are now gone.”

“Solo’s gone too?” Heero asked quietly.

“I don’t know. I guess sometimes they have to separate children if no one will take them together. They weren’t actually related.” Cat shrugged. Heero stared at Duo’s empty seat.

“Should I go after him?”

“I don’t know.” Cat answered. “He may want to be by himself, but you can try.” Heero nodded and got up leaving the other two in the silent kitchen.

He found Duo out front, sitting on the steps down to the sidewalk. It was raining lightly and no one was about. His face was wet and his shoulders rocked in time with his quiet sobs. From where he stood on the porch Heero could hear no sound.

“Hey.” He said cautiously, approaching Duo’s hunched form. He sat down next to Duo. For a few minutes they just sat side by side. Duo’s shaking breaths an answer to the rain hissing on the sidewalk. Heero slowly moved a hand to Duo’s shoulder. He was unsure whether to offer comfort. Duo accepted his tentative offer, turning and burying his face in Heero’s shoulder. Heero wrapped his arm around Duo. He rocked softly like his mother had when ever he cried to her. His shoulder grew gradually damper as Duo’s sobs became more vocal, a gulping, constricting sound with a howl just behind it. The rain from the sky dampened his hair and sent drips down off the tip of his nose and the ends of his hair.

“It’s okay.” He murmured. “It’ll be fine.” He didn’t really know what to say. For all he knew it wouldn’t be okay, but he couldn’t think of anything else. Gradually Duo’s gulps and shaking stilled. He rested limp against Heero’s shoulder. Finally with one great sniff he sat up.

“Sorry about that.” He said, wiping at his eyes, a grin already stumbling back onto his face. “Stupid and silly to break down like that.”

“Hey, hey, stop.” Heero shook his head, reaching out and catching Duo’s face in his hands, forcing Duo to look at him. “It’s not stupid. Cat and Trowa know that too. They know it better then I do. I don’t know what it’s like to loose someone. Only my Obasan, and that was when I was three. But I do know, it’s okay to mourn. It’s right to morn. Don’t keep it all in here alright. We won’t think you’re stupid or silly. Just let it be. Okay?” He let go of Duo’s face, looking for an answer. Duo slowly nodded with no trace of a smile, just a relaxed open face.

“Okay.”

“That’s better.” Heero withdrew, standing. “We should get back inside before we’re both drowned rats.” Duo laughed. After all that crying his laugh was clear and while not necessarily cheery it was bright and true. Heero felt a tinge of a smile at that. That was a good laugh. His mind whispered a wish of something, but he didn’t get enough of the thought to know what it was. They dashed in from the rain, laughing as they threw water all over the flagstone of the entryway.

After that day Duo felt he was closer to Heero. They would seek each other out at lunch and study during free periods and study hall. They talked and said hello whenever they saw each other, and continued conversations via email. Duo would have put Heero right up with Solo and maybe Cat as his best friend. The problem was: the more time they spent together, the more Duo was aware just how much he liked Heero. When his foster parents were leaving for a weekend or needed somewhere for him to be, they’d call up Heero’s mother. It used to be that Duo wound up at Cat’s house, but now he was becoming at fixture at Heero’s too. Heero’s house was far away, but there was a bus that ran almost directly between the two and so it was easy to get there. Heero’s mother, Cheryl knew his favorite foods and was delighted with her son’s new best friend. Heero’s sister took him in and adopted him as her new older brother. He might well have been for the amount of time he spent over there. It was like Heero was his brother, except that Duo knew it was not right to feel this way about any brother no matter how close. When Duo realized this he began to worry. Was he being obvious? What would Heero do if he found out? He was clearly okay with gay guys, Cat and Trowa were his friends, but if someone liked him? Someone he considered almost another sibling. Duo tried to start reigning in his reactions. Noticing how he seemed to go out of his way to be in contact with Heero, slinging an arm around Heero’s shoulders or poking him in the side whenever he could. He tried to tone down on everything. But it was so hard. He was a naturally outgoing, friendly person. And he really wanted to tell Heero. It was awful having those feelings cramped up inside of him. He wanted to say ‘you’re beautiful and amazing’ but knew Heero would scoff if he did, and he couldn’t let on. Duo quickly became adapt at couching his statements of affection in innocent phrases and ways. Hiding the words I love you in a maze of a picture so you could only see them if you knew where to look, but they were there in the open and visible. It made him felt better, and became a dangerous game he played. How open could he be, but still unseen? He would look for any excuse to call Heero. He sang messages to the other boy’s answering machine. Everything he could think of could somehow be related back to Heero. So they talked and spent more time together and Duo learned all he could. The more he learned and discovered about Heero the more he cared for the boy. The more he cared the harder it was to pen things up.

Duo grew frustrated. He became wary of himself and everything around him. One little slip and his secret would be out. He thought of asking Heero’s mother for the boy’s hand. Felt silly. He thought up stupid plans for how to reveal his secret. Agonized over what Heero might say for hours. He scribbled frantically in notebooks. He made things for Heero, CD’s and silly things. When he saw a pretty shell or flower he would think _would Heero like this?_ and possibly bring it back to show him. Everything somehow was about Heero in some way. And yet, he couldn’t let Heero know. Every once in awhile there were times where he would wonder and think, _Do I really love him? Is it just that we’re so close? Am I just confusing how strong our friendship is with love?_ It was in one of those moments that his secret finally came out.

“Duo? Duo are you alright?” Relena’s voice broke into his thoughts. They were supposed to be working on a science project together, but Duo had spent the past ten minutes staring at the elk skull on the table in front of him not saying a word or taking any notes.

“Huh?” He looked up at her worried face. “Oh, I’m fine.” He said. She didn’t look convinced.

“You’re not usually that distracted. Are you sure?”

“Just tired I guess.”

“Why?”

“Haven’t been sleeping well, too much to think about.” He muttered.

“What’s on your mind? If you talk about it maybe it’ll work itself out easier.”

“Oh just stuff…” Relena was having nothing of it. She leaned over the table.

“Don’t be stingy I want all the juicy details.” Duo opened his mouth to protest, but their teacher swooped down upon them.

“What’s this, a blank sheet? Do I need to ask you to leave class or will you actually get around to doing your work after gossiping?” He barked. Duo winced and Relena blushed.

“Sorry.” They ducked their heads and set to scribbling not speaking more then a few words on the teeth and length of bones in the skull for the rest of class.

As soon as class was out though, Relena had cornered him again.

“Speak. You have this period free, I’m skipping class, you need to talk.” Duo gaped like a fish.

“You’re skipping.”

“Eh, gotta have at least one failing on your record right? Actually no, I’m off early today. Mrs. Hiensman’s sick so I don’t have debate; Doro and I are going to her Uncle’s cabin this weekend so we’re leaving early anyway. He informed the front desk for us. But before we head out I want to know what’s going on. You’re my friend and I care.” Duo chewed on his lip, tugging the tip of his braid. She gently reached over and removed it from his fraying grasp. She hauled him down the stairs after her. They stopped out in the garden behind the school. She plopped down next to the hellebore, motioning to the grass beside her.

“Sit and spill.” Duo sat, looking around. No one was near by. Relena looked imploringly at him. “Do I have to guess?”

“Well…I. I’m not sure. How I feel about Heero?” He offered tentatively.

“You don’t think you dislike him or something do you. You two are pretty good friends.”

“No, it’s not that.” She waited for him to continue. “He sees me sort of as another brother it seems and I…” Duo looked around again, finally meeting Relena’s eyes. “I’m not sure I do.” He finished softly. Her brow furrowed.

“Why is that a problem? I mean, you don’t live together. Why does it matter if he considers you a brother? Either way you’re good friends. I don’t mean to be rude, but wouldn’t you want him to be family?”

“Yes, but…not like that.” Duo murmured. Relena leaned in to hear him.

“Not like wha…” Her eyes lit as realization dawned. “You like him.” She crowed. Duo looked wildly around. There was still no one near by.

“Shh…” He motioned. Relena was laughing. She was clutching her gut in a very unladylike manner and nearly rolling around on the ground.

“Hey! It’s not funny.”

“That boy.” she snorted. “He’s just emotional trouble on legs isn’t he.”

“What?” Duo asked confused.

Relena sat up, dusting at her skirt. “He’s caused a fair number of people problems. Myself as a primary member of the club.” Duo looked quizzical still. “You see, last year I was at an impasse. There was this gorgeous guy I liked, our one and only Heero, and my best friend was also…of interest.”

“Dorothy.” Duo connected the pieces.

“Yup. Well, I couldn’t tell who I liked more. I loved Doro as a friend and maybe something more. I was definitely more physically attracted to Heero so I thought I must be straight, but Dorothy just messed everything up because I felt almost what I felt towards Heero with her. The more I got to know her, the more I understood and could see new sides of her, the deeper the feeling grew. Eventually it surpassed what I felt for Heero. But I’m a little slow.” She laughed at the past. “I still didn’t say anything. I was so unsure. Then Dorothy got a girlfriend. That was quite a shock. Both that she might be able to return my feelings, and that she was suddenly taken. I got so jealous. I think I hid it very well. She says she didn’t pick up on it at all, but I was so torn up inside. I felt I’d lost my chance by not saying anything sooner. Thankfully it didn’t last long. It’s sad how happy I was to hear that they fell apart. I tried to act like I was sorry for her. I was actually. I wanted her to be happy, but most of all I wanted her to be happy with me. So at the end of last year I finally worked up the guts to say something. And you know what?”

Duo shook his head, “What?”

“She said ‘yes’ before I had fully asked my question. It was like she somehow knew all along. Of course she didn’t really. She had an inkling, but she wasn’t going to say anything until she was sure.”

“Really?” Duo asked, interested.

“Yes. See, it all worked out in the end.”

“But I don’t know if Heero’s gay.” Duo sighed, his spirits drooping again.

“True, but would you rather find out when he gets a boyfriend or a girlfriend? I say strike while the irons hot. I don’t think he’d stop being your friend if you told him.” Relena said, her eyes sharp and direct. Duo’s shoulders still hung and he shook his head.

“I don’t know if I can. I mean, I don’t know. If he tenses up around me…stops being close…I really value that. I’d rather have what we have now then waste it like that.” He sighed. Relena smiled sympathetically.

“Do what you have to do. But if it gets worse and starts to hurt don’t hold it in. Don’t let being in the dark and afraid keep you back. Even if you’re no longer as close, you will be closer for that one less secret and block between you. You may not think it, but that secret, you pulling away and keeping yourself pinned up, may put more space between you then telling him ever could.” Relena stood up and brushed the last of the dirt off her skirt. “Think about that. In the mean time though, I have a weekend getaway to attend.” She waved acknowledgement to Dorothy who was standing by the schools back door. “I hope you find what you need.” She left him to mull over her words.

In the weeks after his encounter with Relena Duo continued to get less and less sleep. It seemed everything was pointing in the direction of telling Heero. Still, he couldn’t do it. He had tried once walking back from lunch, but had almost immediately changed the topic of the sentence before Heero could even begin to guess its original drift. Heero probably was noticing something different. It seemed the harder Duo tried to be normal, the harder it was to appear so. He almost hoped calamity would strike. He thought of writing a will so his diary would be left to Heero. That way his feelings could be known and he wouldn’t have to face the aftershock. He even went as far as writing a mock up of the darn thing. “In case of accident, or event where I am incapacitated, give Heero my diary and computer; the CD collection can be split between Cat and Trowa. Wufei and Cat get my books…etc” Duo stared at the list morbidly, and turned out the light to sleep. It was a long time coming.

 

**9**

He wasn’t quite sure how he got to the hospital. All he had heard was something about Heero and a car accident. Then next thing he was aware of was the waiting room of the OR. Heero’s mother was there holding his hand, or maybe he was holding hers.

“Is he going to be okay?” he asked, coming out of his daze.

“They think so.” Cheryl said, she stroked his hand, he squeezed back. They sat tensely and waited. Eventually a doctor came out to speak with them.

“Your son will be fine, no permanent damage, he will be in a wheel chair for a while though, and then he should probably do some physical therapy. But otherwise he’ll be fine. We’re moving him too one of the wards so you can come see him if you would like.” They nodded and the doctor motioned for them to follow.

“So you’re his mother and…?”

“Friend, he needs to come to.” Cheryl insisted. The doctor paused, looked at Duo.

“Hm…well I guess that’s all right, if you insist.” Cheryl gave a tight little nod and Duo continued to follow them down the hall.

Heero was in a hospital bed, both his legs in casts. He didn’t appear to be awake. His face was bruised and there was an ugly cut over his eyebrow and another by his ear. Duo couldn’t see most of the rest of him as it was covered by the bed sheets.

“Sweetie.” Heero’s mother whispered, sliding into the chair by his bed, running light fingers over his hair line. He scrunched up his nose. Duo smiled at the adorable expression, the action felt like his face was crumbling. He mentally cursed his bad timing as Heero’s eyes flickered open to greet his tears.

“Mom?” He asked voice thick and cracked. She nodded.

“I’m right here. You’re safe. I love you.” She continued murmuring to him and he just studied her face as if he would analyze every detail.

“I love you too mom.” He said. She nodded again, smiling and crying.

“It’s going to be alright.”

Heero’s eyes wandered farther a-field, taking in the room, and finally landing on Duo. His expression grew confused.

“D…Duo?” He asked. Duo stood, unable to do more then nod slightly, eyes glued to Heero, taking in his battered face and tired eyes.

“I’m here.”

“Why?” Heero asked. Duo felt his gut clench and twist. He looked at Cheryl, she smiled at him. His gaze shifted back to Heero.

“Because I care.” He said, moving closer to Heero’s bed. Cheryl scooted over so he could kneel next to her. Heero shifted his head up and down in a slow nod, his eyes nodding shut even as he did so. “I love you too.” Duo whispered oh so quiet, unsure if the sound would even reach Heero on the banks of sleep. Cheryl reached over and squeezed his shoulder, pulling him against her like she would her son, and rocking. Duo sitting partway in her lap, like a giant baby, and crying in relief of letting go.

The next few weeks were trying. Heero was in the hospital for a relatively short period of time. As soon as they were sure he’d be fine they let him go home. But he was in a wheel chair. Duo wound up being the delegated Heero pusher. Duo actually didn’t mind, why should he? It gave him an excuse to spend more time with Heero. He did feel a little nervous though. He had admitted to himself that he liked Heero. He’d said it out loud twice. He had said it once to Heero himself, even if he hadn’t been aware. That might have been the hardest part, he was unsure if Heero knew. He didn’t act very different, but Duo was now hypersensitive to Heero’s every slight need and change. It was as if he felt it was his duty to make sure his friend stayed safe and well till he was back on his feet. Relena often gave him pointed looks of exasperation and followed by shoulder pats and smiles of encouragement, but for the most part she kept a respectful distance. It was Hilde who tracked him down the second time.

 

**10**

He came into homeroom one morning early, it was a Tuesday and Heero was staying home with a flu he’d somehow caught. Duo wasn’t feeling exactly well either, though some of it probably had to do with guilt. As stupid as it seemed he almost felt responsible for Heero’s sickness, like he hadn’t been protective enough. He yawned and collapsed in the corner of the room with the pillows and couch. Even if things were a little better his mind still kept him up. He was barely aware when another figure plopped down next to him.

“Hey wonder boy!” came a cheerful voice. Duo groaned,

“Do you have to be this perky this early in the morning?”

“Don’t be grouchy, it’s like I haven’t seen you in ages.” Hilde’s face came into focus when he rubbed his eyes, “Ever since Halloween you’ve been a little out of it, and lately you spend all your time pushing Yuy around, you never get to hang out with your friends.” She mocked a punch at his shoulder, “Forgetting all about us?” Duo paused mouth hanging slightly open. He had really forgotten them. His own inner struggles and then Heero’s accident had shut down almost all of his life. Relena had kept up with him because they were working together, and Cat made and effort. Duo really had just dropped everything except for Heero. How had he let his priorities become so narrow? He shook his head, feeling the weight of a sever case of tunnel vision.

“I’m really sorry. I didn’t realize how…”

“Oh don’t be all depressed. What’re friends for? I’ve come to get the dirty details of your vacation into Yuy land.” Duo blinked.

“Huh?”

“Well, he’s got something of a rep for being cold and quiet. Just look the way he ignored Relena all those years she was floundering about with her head- Anyway, you’ve actually spent time with him and seem to be good friends. Not even Cat could get quiet that far. What’s he like. As good as he looks?”

“What!” Duo spluttered, misinterpreting her.

“Oh, that’s not what I meant. I mean like in the personality sense. It’s kind of hard to judge when he opens his mouth less then Trowa.” Hilde leaned towards him. Duo was having a hard time keeping his brain in gear.

“Well, he has a sister. She’s several years younger, very cute in a little kid sort of way. He hates cauliflower. He doesn’t have a favorite color…maybe green if pressed about it. He reads a fair bit, likes historical novels, especially about battles n’stuff. He was a Matrix fanatic believe it or not. Has a few posters remaining in his room. Quotes and stuff too. He also really likes this stuff called anime. It’s a Japanese thing I guess. It’s really pretty cool some of it though we’ve only watched a small portion of his collection. His father spoke fluent Japanese he says. His mother’s from Virginia originally, she even has the remainders of a southern accent. What else…” Duo pondered. Hilde was leaning back musing too.

“You know a lot about him. Who woulda thunk there’s an actual person in there.” She commented. Duo nodded absently,

“He’s really good with computers, always knows how to fix stuff. He actually managed to hack the school server once.”

“No kidding!” Hilde’s eyes widened. “Lot’s more then meets the eye.”

“Yeah. There really is.” His tone must have been to fond because Hilde’s expression grew scrutinizing. She leaned in a devious look on her face.

“Sooo…what do you think of Mr. Perfect?” Duo shrugged not looking at her. Hilde grinned. “Hoo hoo. Do I sense a alternate purpose?”

“He’s just my friend.” Duo muttered. Hilde leaned back and put her hands on her hips.

“Geez laweez Duo Maxwell, do you think I’m blind? My brother is gay dear. Gayer then you could ever hope to be in your closet boy dreams. No sense hiding from me I can spot em a mile away, and I’m your friend. I pay attention to you, I care and when you start changing, maybe for the worse I’m gonna stick my head in and tell you you’re not the only one.” She pronounced.

“Do I really act like something’s bugging me that much? Is it that obvious? First Relena, then you… What’s with you guys. Does everybody know?” Duo groaned. Scooting over to him Hilde wrapped an arm around his shoulders grinning.

“Not everybody. Just those of us who care and are in tune with the relationship thing. Me, I swing both ways. I went out with Trowa’s sister last year. You missed it, which is too bad. I think we were an uber cute couple. But we made better friends then girlfriends. We decided to just stay friends in the end. Now she’s met some guy at her summer job with the circus. He’s actually really cool.” Hilde started rattling off about Catherine’s boyfriend. Duo stared at his friend, her smiling face as she described the story of their first meeting. How many kids were like him? Had feelings like him? He felt a sense of wonder and happiness. He fit in somewhere. Even if they weren’t visible, there was a community waiting for him if he just opened up. That community was his friends. Cat and Trowa, Hilde, Relena and Dorothy. All he had to do was stand up and say ‘here I am’. They had done it. They were all happy. It hadn’t worked out for Hilde and she and Catherine were still friends. They still got together and hung out. Catherine would mention at lunch how they had gone to a mall and speculated on who they would date. Duo hadn’t thought about it deeply, but now he realized, he’d never really heard a specific pronoun used. He thought over a thousand little instances with his group of friends, ways something might be phrased. Sally calling Wufei on a slip of the tongue when her boyfriend referred to something as “gay”, and if Sally didn’t say it Cat certainly would. While he had seen how well his friends treated Cat and Trowa, he hadn’t realized till just then how overall accepting they were. How so supportive they were, even if they didn’t realize it.

Duo raised his head from his thoughts. Hilde had stopped talking. He looked at her searching. She smiled, squeezing her arm around his shoulders.

“You’re not alone. Okay?” He nodded dumbly. “The first step to everything is opening up. Even if you don’t want to say you’ve got a crush on someone specific, you can acknowledge you have a crush. You don’t have to say “Look at me I’m gay!” Just be open. Hey, who am I to talk, for all I know you like girls too?”

Duo shrugged, “I dunno. I don’t think so, not really ever that way, but you never know.”

“My philosophy,” she confided, “is that you love people, not genders.” Duo thought that made a lot of sense. She leaned in closer, resting her head atop his. “You don’t have to come out all at once, just be open and little by little ease into the water. That way you’re not shocking anyone, you have time to get used to it, everybody else has time to get used to it. By the time you’re all the way in it won’t even matter anymore. And when you stick your toe in, if the water’s really hot, you can jump straight back out and cause it’s just your pinky, most of the water in the tub won’t know the difference.”

“You make very weird analogies.” Duo pulled away a bit so they were sitting next to each other again.

“I suppose I do. You should hear my mother though, she compares dating to a buffet table. Actually I kinda like that analogy too. You have time to taste a little of everything and find which food you like best, and what you don’t and that of course helps you make decisions when you go back for seconds.” She stood up and stretched, eyes twinkling. “Anyhoo, by this conversation you already got a toe in. I’d advise acclimating, then moving forward inch by inch as you’re comfortable. We’re here with a safety inflatable device so you don’t drown.” Duo smiled.

“Thanks.” He yawned again, almost at the same moment that their homeroom teacher walked in.

“Tired Maxwell?” He asked genially.

“No kidding, sometimes it feels as if I’ll die from the amount of homework.”

“Whatdya got?” The teacher asked as he arranged his desk. Duo started a tirade on the unfairness of Spanish. Hilde faded into the background to work on resetting the chessboard for the daily game.

Hilde’s suggestion made sense. Cat, he was pretty sure, might suspect something too. He remembered the ambiguity of some of Cat’s past comments and decided that he could be more open around those two. Wufei had been the one to get Trowa and Cat together and Sally certainly was very accepting. Catherine had gone out with Hilde, and Dorothy and Relena already were supporting him. The more he thought about it the more he realized the only person among his main circle of friends that he didn’t know about was Heero. Heero was friends with Trowa, how un-accepting could he be? He decided to test the water a little. It was a Saturday and they were all going out to a movie. Trowa couldn’t make it, but Cat, Hilde, Sally and Heero were going. Heero was now out of his wheel chair. Duo was glad. Even though they had been in more classes together this term; Duo liked not having to push his friend everywhere. He was sad they weren’t together as much, but he really had been neglecting his other friends. Now he had time for Hilde and everyone else. He still hung out with Heero the most. From what Cat said, Duo suspected he was the closest friend Heero had ever had.

It had been Heero’s idea to go to this movie. It was an anime film by some famous director. Duo didn’t really know much about it, but Sally and Heero had both said it would be great. They met up for lunch before the show at a pho restaurant by the theater. Hilde had introduced them all to the wonders of pho. It was generally inexpensive for a good sized filling meal, and readily accessible to teenagers. After eating and paying they strolled to the theater eating the complimentary cream puff pastries. The theater was running two showings, one in English, and one in Japanese. Sally insisted they go to the Japanese one. Duo had noticed over his friendship with Heero and Cat he had picked up quite a knack for subtitles. That was probably because he watched subtitled movies so much now. He could even watch them on fast forward and be able to comprehend everything. They got their tickets and went to reserve seats. They were one of the first groups in the theater. There were a couple of girls a few rows down, leaning around a laptop computer. Heero went to get food and Sally and Cat went to talk to the girls, since she had noticed an image from a show she liked on the laptop screen.

“Was that a Kenshin fan art?” She asked.

Duo hung back unsure of what to do. Even if he watched the stuff it didn’t mean he knew a lot about it. Eventually he gave up and joined them. Sally was deep in a conversation about downloading series from the web and Cat was rattling off shows he liked to one of the girls who would nod, shake her head know, or clap her hands and make happy noises depending on whether she knew and liked them or not. Duo decided to join in the conversation.

“Really, you’ve seen that too?” Cat was asking.

“Yup. Though I like the fandom much more. I’m a ficcer myself.”

“Oh really what’s your ship?”

“Well I’m an H/D person myself.”

“Uh huh. I can see that. Not so much of a fan. But there’s a heck of a lot of worse stuff out there.”

“No kidding, have you seen the master ship list?”

“There is one?”

“Yup.” Duo was lost.

“I’ll have to find that. You know Yami no Matsuei?” Quatre asked the girl nodded and bounced.

“That was actually the first anime I ever bought.” Cat grinned,

“Really, I just started watching it.” Duo knew this show. He’d seen the first few episodes at Cat’s house the day he got it.

“That’s an interesting show.” He put in. “I like the idea of shinigami. That was actually my nickname in middle school. I don’t remember how I got it though. I read some of the manga of Yami though; it’s pretty different, not at first, but later on.”

The girl nodded, “I know. How far have you read?”

“I read up to about book 8 at the bookstore.” Duo explained.

“It gets really weird, departing farther from the anime as it goes. Though I like it a lot it seems to be heading a bit of the way Gravi went. Gravitation you know? First four books are awesome, then around the fifth things start going nutziod, flying mech pandas and all.”

“Really?” Cat asked, “I was actually thinking of reading that series, should I?”

“Oh, the anime’s great, and I do like the books, just be prepared for slapstick craziness, it’s not really a shojo comic.”

“Huh. Funny how that works.” Cat agreed, “guy stuff is girl stuff and girl stuff is guy stuff.” Heero returned with popcorn and drinks. He deposited them on their seats and came down to join the crowd. More people were filing in now too. One of the girls jumped up and started waving. Three more people joined them, to adults and boy. They greeted each other and sat down. Sally was still rattling away about computers.

“I can’t understand a word out of her mouth.” Duo confessed. The girl they had been talking too grinned.

“I know exactly what you mean. I’m so computer illiterate, at least compared to these folks.” They all chatted a bit more, by then the theater was truly filling up and they had to go take their seats. The lights dimmed and the movie began. As Heero predicted it was a very good movie.

After the movie, they all walked out into the brightness of the street, checking to make sure they had all their coats and bags.

“I really liked that movie.” Duo stated. “It was actually pretty funny.”

“Yeah, not only that but Howl was hot, if I do say so myself.” Duo grinned,

“Not just you, I agree completely. Same thought was on my mind.” Cat gave him a megawatt smile.

“Really now? Well it’s nice to hear it’s a shared opinion. Anyways I thought the part where…” Cat enthused about his favorite scenes and Sally nodded her agreement. Heero didn’t say anything, but Hilde gave him a subtle wink.

After that, when the chance came Duo stated his opinions. He didn’t say things overly much, but when he felt something he didn’t keep it quiet. Relena noticed the change and pulled him aside one day to congratulate him. But really things were much the same. The one thing he never discussed was his feelings for Heero, and they were still there. Heero himself seemed to be reacting less, acting as he always had. Maybe more friendly, still letting Duo come over and study and eat dinner on the weekends, still hanging out with him between classes, but still oblivious and unresponsive when Duo made the slightest subtlest of gestures. _That was probably the problem_ , he conceded, _everything I do or say can easily be misconstrued as platonic and just friendly._ But Duo was still afraid to take that step. He goofed around; ruffling Heero’s hair, hugging the boy when he was unawares. Then again, Duo was very loving with everybody. “You are a cuddle bug.” Cat had pronounced one afternoon when Duo had asked why it was pertinent for everybody to lie on top of him, as Sally, Hilde, and Cat had decided to do. “Do I make a good couch?” he had asked and Cat had simply answered “no you are a cuddle bug,” much to the amusement of the girls.

Duo decided to ask Cat for advice. They were getting together for a weekend sleepover. Duo knew that Trowa would be out of town for the weekend and his other friends were occupied so he was guaranteed to have Cat for himself. He didn’t know if he really wanted to ask, but other then Heero Cat was his best friend and he needed another brain to think on his predicament. After dinner they retreated up stairs. They watched a movie and chatted, all the while Duo was looking for the right time to say it, the right point to bring up his question. Finally silence fell. Then Duo didn’t want to break it. He took a deep breath working up his nerve.

“So…” he breathed out, “you’ve probably figured out I’m gay.” Cat nodded, his face going serious at the tone of Duo’s statement.

“Well you see it’s not just that, there’s kind of someone I like.” Cat nodded that he understood waiting for Duo to continue.

“And well, I guess I don’t know what to do about it. You have a boyfriend, how the hell are you supposed to go about alerting someone and well…whatever?” Duo asked uncomfortably, his frustration putting more force to his voice then he’d anticipated. Cat propped his chin on his hands, thinking.

“Well, is this other person interested.”

“Absolutely no fucking clue.”

“Anyway you can get a clue?”

“Not this side of asking.” Duo griped.

“Ah, there’s the problem. And why don’t you ask.”

“Cause I care about them. I don’t want to ruin our friendship.” Cat nodded.

“I can understand that. Trowa and I didn’t have to go through too much of that, but before Wufei knocked our heads together we certainly had similar problems.”

“So what do I do?”

“Who is this elusive person?”

“Take a wild guess.” Duo grumbled.

“Heero Yuy.” Cat deadpanned.

“You knew?”

“Sorta. Just a guess. Yeah he’s a tough case. I’ve been trying to figure out that guy for years. Can’t say I’ve come up with much. Trowa would be the guy to talk to. Well there’s no sign he’s straight, but none he’s gay either.” Cat mused. “Hey isn’t the dance coming up soon?”

“I’m not asking him out, what if he says no? And if I say as a friend, I mean, what good will that do? As friends we already do the going out thing.”

“Oh?” Cat pried.

“Sure, we go out and get coffee, see movies. We went to Uwajamia and bought sashimi for dinner, stuff like that. There’s a really great coffee house he introduced me to. They have the best muffins in the world.”

“You sound like you’re dating already.”

“No we’re normal friends. That’s what friends do.”

“Well, the only difference between friends and a date is that in one you’re attracted to the person physically not just mentally, that and there’s often an inordinate amount of staring in the other persons eyes and kissing.”

“Exactly, we’re not dating.”

“So kiss him then.” Duo growled and buried his head in his pillow.

“It’s hopeless.”

“Nothing’s ever hopeless. We’ll think of something.” Duo just shook his head, Cat though was already planning.

In the next few weeks dance fever took over the school. All the girls were discussing dresses and couples were pairing off more.

“Their nesting,” explained Hilde, “it’s spring and everyone settles down and nests in the spring. That’s why they have the main dance of the year now.” In all the schools Duo had been to before, dances were ignored. Nobody actually danced, quite pointless. When he told this to Hilde she shook her head.

“We only have two dances a year and one’s seniors only. The school realizes no one will dance so they time it just for the spring coupling rush. That way people will at least show up. If there’s only one a year and it’s at the right time people actually show up. No over saturation of the market. So on one dance of the year they make an effort. They send us to someplace with space and good floors for a dance. If we had a gym maybe we could have it actually in the school. There’s actually a gym in the construction plans for the next five years when they do the remodel, who knows what’ll happen then.” Hilde leaned back in her chair, tossing a squishy ball she had found on one of the bookshelves. “Who are you going with?”

“I dunno. I wasn’t actually planning on going. I like to dance, but all the dances I’ve been to were so lame I felt out of place dancing.” Duo admitted.

“Well that certainly won’t happen here. Who would you go with?”

“I dunno, I’d have to think. You?” Hilde grinned.

“It’s a secret. Actually, not really since most people have heard already. I was asked by a senior. You know Chris?” Duo nodded slowly. He’d seen they guy in the hall, but didn’t really know him.

“You know him?”

“Well, yeah actually. We live a few blocks from each other, and hang out sometimes during free periods I don’t share with you guys. He bought a rat from me.” Hilde smiled. Duo blinked. He remembered his recent discovery on finally going over to Hilde’s house. Hilde ran a ratterie. She bred rats and sold them. He had thought the girl was all about mechanics, but apparently she knew more about rats than humanly possible.

“Anybody who loves em too is a potential boyfriend?” Duo questioned.

“You gotta set your priorities somehow.” Hilde grinned. “The new litter actually came in this weekend. I don’t know how you could have missed my happy theatrics. They’re gorgeous little things.”

“Which litter is this?”

“I named them all after characters from a science fiction series. You remember those Lois McMaster Bujold books I’m always reading?” Duo nodded. “Well we have Miles, and Cordelia, of course and…”

“Hilde, I haven’t read the books.” Duo reminded. Hilde sighed.

“You utterly strange boy. So…who are you going with?”

“Nobodies asked.”

“You’re a guy dear, it’s usually assumed that you’ll ask.” Hilde rolled her eyes.

“What if…between Trowa and Quatre who would ask?”

“They don’t have to it’s a given they’ll go together. I see you’re problem though. Well, I’d just pluck up the courage and ask if I were you. But you could also go with a group, or double date if you don’t want to ask so outright or whatever. A double date with Cat and Trowa would be a lot like going on a single date, with those two staring into each others eyes in the background the whole time.” Hilde laughed. Duo smiled but it wasn’t convinced. “Oh come on. It’s not that bad. You can always go stag and then dance with everybody including that special someone. That’s always a great trick too.” That seemed like a good idea.

“Maybe I’ll do that.” Duo agreed.

The day of the dance approached. The girls were going on a mass dress shopping trip that weekend. The dance would be the next. Cat suggested that the guys get together and do something similar.

“It’s not fair they should have all the fun. Sides I _hate_ picking out suits and need someone who can do it for me.” He said cheerfully over the phone. Duo agreed to meet up with everybody at the Downtown mall in a few hours.

I normally don’t like reading authors notes but I thought I aught to write one here.

I’ve really loved writing this, and I’ve finished it too. My beta just gave me back the last chapter so I’ll clean that up and it’ll be done. She said she liked the end but thought I could have done better. I agree. I’m going to post it (sometime before next week hopefully) but I think I’ll be redoing it sometime in the future. The problem is the end goes a little beyond my own experience, as I’ve never had a date or anything it’s hard to write about people getting together. This story really is drawn from experiences so that may be why the end isn’t quite right. Still I think it’s good, just know that I’ll probably work on it in the future, when I know what I’m talking about. This is a growing story; as I grow it will (least that’s what I hope). There might even be a sequel by the time I leave for college

Either way, I hope you enjoy it.

**11**

They all gathered at the food court. Wufei, Heero, Trowa, Cat and surprisingly Zechs too.

“I thought this was a sophomore gathering.” Wufei grumbled.

“Don’t hate me cause I’m a senior. Dad wanted me to go help Relena buy her dress. She’s out with the girls and forbade me to go with her, of which I’m glad. So while I’m out “shopping” with her, I figured it was as good a time as any to buy a suit.”

“Great!” Cat grinned, “the more the merrier.” Wufei grumbled a bit but acquiesced. They all headed for the suit shops.

“I don’t really get it, what’s the difference? I mean they’re all practically the same.” Duo groaned. “The only difference I can see is the heinous prices. Who thinks high school students can afford these things?”

“That’s why you rent em.” Trowa stuck his head out from the changing room. “Approval?” He asked. Duo and Zechs looked him over.

“It looks nice. I just don’t see much of a difference from the last one. They’re all nice, but none’s better then another.”

Zechs had a more critical eye and told Trowa that it wasn’t as good as the last one and that he thought one with such and such a pant leg would be even better. Duo held his head in his hands.

“I don’t get it.”

“You’re up,” Wufei said, emerging from one of the changing rooms with his final choice slung over his arm. Duo slid the curtain closed behind him shaking his head.

“That wasn’t so bad.” Trowa offered. Cat and Duo shared a look.

“Maybe not for you, but some of us aren’t so sure.” Duo grumbled.

“I hate trying on clothes. I don’t know why. I can find several lovely options, but I hate trying them all on.” Cat laid his head on the Formica table of the food court.

“Trying them on is fine, but I missed the clothes matching skills you all got. I must be color blind or something; it’s a miracle I haven’t died of a fashion faux-pa.” Duo echoed Cat’s gesture. Wufei shook his heads at the two depressed teenagers.

“You looked fine. Stop moping.” Heero put in, returning with a tray of their orders.

“You really think so?” Duo perked up.

“Yes.” Heero handed out chopsticks all around.

“You shouldn’t be so down about it. You’ll be great. This is your first dance at our school right?” Duo nodded, “I’m sure you’ll have fun.” Heero concluded, before commencing his lunch.

“Yeah this is your first dance.” Wufei nodded, as if just remembering Duo had transferred in earlier this year. “Who are you going with?” Duo couldn’t contain the slight involuntary flick of his eyes to Heero.

“I dunno yet.” Zechs looked incredulous.

“You don’t know? There’re so many girls who’d love to go with you. I’ve heard a lot about how popular you are from my sister.” Zechs was amazed. “I thought you’d be snapped up in a heart beat.”

“Oh. Well, I’m probably not going with a girl so…I’ll probably just go by myself.” Duo shrugged. Zechs looked at him critically and then nodded smiling.

“That’s fine. I went stag to my first dance actually. I met Noin there, but she was going out with another guy at the time.”

“She’s your date this time?” Duo asked.

“Of course. She’s out shopping with the rest of the girls.” Zechs turned to Wufei. “And you?”

“Sally.” Wufei nodded.

“We’re together.”

“Of course.” Trowa and Cat chorused. Attention turned to Heero. Heero shrugged, picking at his food.

“Same boat as Duo. Nobodies asked. I’ll probably go by myself.” Heero stated. Cat grinned.

“That’s so sad. I mean if you’re both free why not just go together?” Cat twinkled, but after a moment of slightly stunned silence added, “as friends.” Duo shrugged, trying not to show a preference.

“I don’t really care. If you want to I will.” Heero stared at his food.

“Doesn’t really matter to me either.”

“Well then it’s settled.” Cat announced. “It would be to depressing for you two to both be going alone so you’ll go together. It’s a good thing your suits are complimentary.” Cat beamed. Duo couldn’t help shaking his head at his friend’s audacity. Inside though his heart was speeding up and he felt a grin trying to edge onto his face. He fought it down with a genial shrug.

“What ever the man says I suppose. There really is no point in arguing with you is there.”

“Nope.” Cat declared, standing up and collecting all the trays. Heero was still silent. Cat lightly punched his arm as he passed, “you’ll have fun don’t worry.”

Duo did worry. He worried a lot. They were going, as friends. What did that mean? Would they dance together, with other people? Who’d pick whom up? Did he have to bring a corsage? He couldn’t really imagine any of it. But the day was fast approaching. The buzz in the school had settled to a low hum a constant whisper in the background. It didn’t make Duo any less uneasy. The day before eventually came and Duo sought Heero out. Since the weekend they hadn’t really been avoiding each other. This term they had a lot of classes together, but they hadn’t really talked specifically. Duo wondered if Heero was annoyed with the whole situation. He caught up with his friend after lunch.

“Hey Heero…I was wondering about the dance tomorrow…” Heero didn’t even look up from his laptop. Duo eerily felt as if he’d been time warped back to the first few months of the school year with Heero hiding in corners and ignoring everyone.

“I’ll pick you up half an hour till. It won’t be anything fancy. Mom’s driving. She’s very happy I’m going with someone this year.” Heero paused to flick an eye up to Duo. “Just be ready and be yourself. Really, it’s nothing special. You don’t have to do anything.” Duo gulped. The way Heero was talking was odd. He couldn’t tell if his friend was annoyed or fine. He sounded as if he was being nice but there was an uncomfortable undertone. Duo tried a grin and nodded quickly.

“Sure thing. See you then.” He left more confused then he’d came.

Friday evening Duo paced. From the time he got home he was a mass of tension and useless energy. His foster mother tried to be helpful, but he was un-soothe-able. He rechecked his appearance five times before she kicked him out of the room with the full-length mirror. He tried to believe her when she told him he looked handsome. But wasn’t that what all mother-types said? He sat on the stairs by the door, waiting for Heero to show up. He wondered whether he should have a flower or something. He worried the end of his braid, after much debate, he’d decided to just leave it as it was. But he had brushed it to a smooth shining luster before braiding it and the braid was meticulous and pristine. He pulled on his black shoes. They weren’t really all that fancy but they were nice enough and wouldn’t give him blisters while dancing. He already brushed his teeth but felt the urge to go and do it again. To do something at least. Then Heero finally chose to show up. He was actually a few minutes early, but it was a good thing otherwise Duo might have snapped. He flung the door open, smiling wide.

“Hey Heero!” He greeted enthusiastically. He took in Heero’s attire. He hadn’t really paid much attention while they were shopping. He had purposefully tried to avoid staring at the other boy at all in the process. Now it was hard to bring his eyes away. Heero was perfect. He was elegant and composed, very aristocratic, yet at ease with his whole outfit so he didn’t seem stiff, just natural. Duo grinned appreciatively, “Geeze you clean up good.” Heero nodded thanks.

“I’ll take that as a compliment. You’re not so bad yourself.”

“Thanks.” Duo got out, trying not to loose his speech ability in a fit of tongue tied ness. _Snap out of it, you’re going as friends,_ Duo growled to himself. _Or maybe not,_ he amended as Heero presented him with a bouquet.

“I brought these, my mother figures if you do something you aught to do it right. Since I’m picking you up I brought flowers. Crissy picked them out for you.” Heero explained. Duo’s inner hopes fell, _okay maybe it is just friends_.

“Tell her thank you for me. They’re beautiful. I’ll run and put them in some water. Then we can go.” Duo took the birds of paradise and hurried to the kitchen, haphazardly stuffing them in a vase, then taking a few minutes to arrange them on the table, before realizing he was wasting time and dashing back to the foyer.

“Ready to go?” He asked upon return. Heero nodded. They left, Duo pausing only to yell goodbye to his mother upstairs in the bath and locking the door behind them.

Zechs and Noin were two of the seniors running the dance. They stood at the entrance gathering fees and cans of food, two dollars off if you brought one. Heero and Duo joined the line behind some giggling freshmen. Zechs waved them over.

“Looking good you two. Bring any canned goods.” Duo shook his head and handed over the eight dollars. Heero produced a can of pickled beets from somewhere and thumbed out a five and a one from his wallet.

“Thank you good sirs. The entrance is that way. Enjoy yourselves.” He said with a wave of his arm to the left and behind him. They started to move off, “And be sure to talk to me once I get off shift out here!” He called after them, Duo nodded assent.

The inside of the room was all black, it took Duo a minute to realize that it wasn’t the room he had suspected, the inside of the square room was now domed, they’d stepped through the door into a giant geodesic dome. Constellations were painted on the ceiling and walls at a magnified size. It was like walking into a planetarium.

“Wow.” Duo whispered. His voice went unheard over the noise of the music, which was quite loud. This was yet another dance where one would have to shout to be heard. Heero saw his lips moving and leaned forward.

“What?”

“I said, ‘Wow.’ This is quite an impressive job.” Duo stated. Heero nodded,

“It’s a great senior class this year. All their idea.” There were strings of white Christmas lights here and there, like more stars and a disco ball hung from the highest point of the dome, like a moon, scattering specks of starlight everywhere. Colored lights flashed on and off from some unknown source washing the dance floor in color then disappearing and leaving just the star spangled light for moments before shedding rainbow colors again.

“Where’s everybody?” asked Duo. He scanned the crowd. Heero looked around too, standing on his tiptoes as if that would help. After a minute he pointed and grabbed Duo’s arm. He dragged his friend after him over to the table where the rest of their group sat.

“Hello.” Duo said. The group had clustered around two of the little round tables edging the dance floor. Cat was sitting on Trowa’s lap and Dorothy was talking animatedly with Catherine. A boy Duo didn’t know sat on her other side. Wufei and Sally were talking quietly, or as quietly as two people could and still be heard by one another over the music.

“Hey you two. About time you got here. Hilde’s late too.”

“We’re on time, the dance started fifteen minutes ago. Some people don’t always volunteer for set up crew, or arrive hours early.” Duo protested. Cat laughed,

“That’s true too.”

“What’s true?” asked Relena, approaching from the other side of the room.

“That some people are unhelpful and don’t do set up work.” Cat teased.

“Unfair. I protest.” Duo put his hands on his hips. “Back me up here Heero.”

“Whatever the man says.” Heero grinned wryly.

“Oh you’re no help.” Duo grumbled despite smiling.

“Hey ya’ll!” Hilde’s voice rang out. She bounced over, how one could manage to do that in a strapless prom dress over weighted with beads, Duo was unsure. Weren’t they supposed to be made so one could dance? A senior Duo recognized as Chris followed her. He was wearing a modest suit and had combed his hair a bit but didn’t look that different from normal. Next to him Hilde gleamed, she looked up giving him a wink and tugging him over, to her friends. He followed reluctantly but with a fond smile. The two were good for each other. Duo didn’t know Chris well, but he was the easy going dependable type, with a supposed fabulously dark sense of humor, if all Hilde spoke were true.

“Everybody, this is Chris.” She announced. “Chris, meet the gang you avoid.”

“I don’t avoid you all. I just have no reason to seek you out, no offense.” Chris put in mildly. Hilde smiled larger, her cheeks were flushed with excitement and she looked very happy. “Introductions?” she prompted.

“Cat.” Cat waved from where he sat on Trowa. Trowa smiled and introduced himself as well.

“Relena.”

“Dorothy.”

“Catherine.”

“William.” The boy with curly blond hair responded. His eyes twinkled bright blue behind a pair of glasses. He had a mischievous air and a bright smile. Duo liked him immediately, certainly a piece of eye candy.

“Wufei.”

“Sally.”

“Heero.”

“Duo.” Duo finished. Hilde nodded.

“Now you know everyone. Good to see you all.” Hilde turned away, taking her partner by the arm and leading him towards the dance floor. “Let’s go dance?” the two disappeared into the crowd.

“So.” Cat said after a moment of silence. “Are we all just going to sit here? We have a home base claimed and now everybody knows where it is and has arrived. What are we waiting for?” He asked.

“Zechs doesn’t know.” Duo offered.

“I pointed out where we’d be when we first got here before they turned the lights off, he’ll find it okay.” Relena shrugged. “I’m all for dancing.” She offered a hand to Dorothy who took it. She pulled her girlfriend out of her seat and the two headed off towards the dance floor. Duo was uncertain looking around at everyone, and finally settling on Heero.

“Well, I don’t suppose they’ll play a waltz tonight, but that’s not all I enjoy dancing. Um….?” He was unsure if he should ask to dance, or how one should do this if one was going as a friend. Heero nodded, taking his arm like one would for a formal dance and leading towards the dance floor. Duo turned slightly to catch Cat’s eye and wiggled his fingers in farewell. Cat was trying to hide his smile behind a cup of tea from the refreshments table.

The dance floor was very crowded. Duo was worried at first of crashing into people or stepping on Heero’s feet, but that began to fade away. At first he only danced in small steps, moving slightly from side to side, his feet keeping a rhythm, mimicking Heero. But then they put on the YMCA. Duo’s face lit up like a jack-o-lantern. This was a dance he knew for sure. He bounced up and down with all the other people, waving his hands above his head in the shapes of the letters. After that there was no going back. Duo enjoyed dancing. He’d taken hip hop dance as a P.E. course at his old school and while he mainly disliked it he could dance to rap music. In elementary he and Cat had been part of the “free dance” group. They preformed for festivals the school held with odd, interpretive dance type things. They’d even done one with hula hoops. All this and the eclectic cultures he’d been raised in, as well as a full summer of ballroom dance, did pay off. He danced like the mix he was, a little of this and a little of that everything flowing, but nothing expected.

When Duo danced like this he was used to doing it by himself, alone in the kitchen, or the basement of his house, with the music blasting when his parents weren’t home. It almost surprised him when Heero slid squarely into his field of view and dancing with him. They danced differently, but Heero made it fit. In moments he went from dancing alone, to dancing with someone else. Dancing with someone like Heero was very weird. It was so easy, and yet he was hyper aware of every little movement and they way one moved flowed into the next. It was like dancing by himself, but with an extension of his body beside him. Sometimes they would dance closer together, sometimes farther apart. Duo fell into the rhythm of the dance and lost himself. He was sad when the song ended.

The next song they put on was something from Nirvana. Duo’s face lit up with a devil grin. He saw Heero shake his head with laughter that couldn’t be heard over the music. The chorus hit and Duo was soon head banging along with the rest of the crowd. How you could have a mosh pit in prom gear he was unsure but he thought he saw Hilde being passed around somewhere to his left. The crowd was a mass of jumping bodies. He was afraid that by the time the song was over he’d have lost Heero. He didn’t. There was a slight space between that song and the next for people to settle and regain composure. Heero was standing, already looking composed beside him. Duo raised an eyebrow and Heero shrugged. Going with the greater calm the next song was a waltz. All the head bangers trickled off the dance floor. Fewer people remained, almost the perfect number for a good waltz.

Duo extended his arm, stepping forward with an inclination of his head. Heero nodded and he slipped an arm around the boy’s waist. Heero’s fingers settled into his. Duo counted beats in his head then began the steps. He was used to leading and Heero knew enough to be able to follow a good lead, as Duo prided himself to be. The spun across the dance floor, Duo occasionally tried more complicated steps and turns Heero took them all with only the slightest hesitation or falter. Duo looked around as they waltzed. Trowa and Cat waltzed by with a nod of acknowledgement and Dorothy and Relena were on the far side of the dance floor. They were the only three homogenous couples. Most of the others were seniors or juniors as well. Duo turned his eyes back to Heero. Heero wasn’t even looking at his feet. Their eyes caught on one another and Duo was afraid his feet would fumble and trip, but they were well trained, they continued their sure way through the patterns of the dance, but his eyes stayed stationary, glued to Heero’s. He felt as if they were communicating. He was not sure about what though. When the song ended they both bowed. Duo rose up and smiled wide.

“That’s got to be the best waltz I’ve ever done. Nice job Heero.” Heero nodded lightly, not attempting to speak over the beginnings of the next song. It was, surprisingly, another song Duo knew. It was a song from a video game he played, DDR.

“Heero, it’s the butterfly song!” He gasped. Heero nodded. Duo tried to remember the steps, closing his eyes for a moment to picture the little arrows going up the screen. He’d done this one so many times. His body almost knew it by heart. He turned to look at Heero to see the boy already taping out the steps as if he were standing on an invisible game pad. Duo grinned and tried to get them all right.

A while later they stumbled of the dance floor. It was a lull between songs and the chatter of the crowd was almost as loud as the music had been. They passed Hilde and her boyfriend in a corner as they headed for their group table. Duo shook his head but grinned anyway, they probably weren’t the only ones. Dorothy and Relena were the only ones at the table when they arrived. Sally and Wufei had gone out for a breath of fresh air about a half hour ago they said. Cat and Trowa were either on the dance floor or somewhere else, not there.

“So, you guys enjoying yourselves?” Dorothy asked.

“I sure am, though I’d be much better off with a glass of water. Where’re the refreshments anyway?” Relena pointed.

“Other side of the room there, there’s a table behind that crowd.”

“Thanks.” Duo replied. Heero nodded,

“I’ll go, what do you want?” He asked. Duo blinked.

“Um, water? Juice would be fine too though, or whatever.”

“Hilde didn’t manage to spike it this year, so it should be safe.” said Catherine as she caught her breath. She grabbed something from her purse and grinned. “Bye.” She ran back off into the crowd. Heero headed around the dance floor to get the drinks.

“So, how’s it going?” Relena leaned over to him.

“Pretty well I guess.” Duo shrugged. “We’ve danced a lot. He’s a really good dancer.” Duo smiled slightly. Relena nodded.

“Yeah, well, we all know that. He always dances at these events, which is rare for people who come without someone. They usually watch or dance with everybody. Heero always dances by himself, except,” Relena smiled, “this time. He’s danced only with you. Don’t you think that means something?”

“Definitely.” Dorothy seconded, “I may not be the Heero expert our Relena is, but it must mean something.”

“But what?” Duo asked, forlorn. “That he feels a duty to his friend, to the person he was forced to come with. I mean, he could just be being nice!”

“He wasn’t forced to come with you. He could have said he didn’t want to when Cat suggested it.”

“He said he didn’t care either way. I wouldn’t call that wanting to do something. He just did it because Cat insisted.”

“And what did you say?”

“I said I didn’t care.”

“There you go. If you do it why can’t he. I mean think about it, he’s getting as mixed signals from you as you are from him.” Duo thought on that, it made sense but still….

Heero came over to their table.

“Here is your water.” He said, handing over a plastic bottle, still sealed. “My mother is paranoid. She says to never take drinks from a stranger. But this is sealed so I couldn’t possibly have tampered with it.” Heero stated.

“Um, thanks. That’s considerate. I wasn’t really thinking about that, but I guess it’s good to be safe. Not that I’d suspect you of ever doing something like that.” Duo accepted the drink.

“Ah that’s the thing. It’s always those you don’t expect it of, who do the things you don’t expect. That’ goes for darn near everything.” Heero screwed the top off his own water bottle and took a drink. Duo followed suit. The strains of the next song perked his ear.

“Hey, I love this song!” He crowed. “Come on Heero. See you later ladies.” He grabbed Heero’s arm and pulled his partner back onto the dance floor. The song was a repetitive one, perfect for doing little, but jumping in circles like a child and spinning. He did just that, grabbing both of Heero’s hands and twirling them around each other. Like Heero was the center of a wheel with Duo spinning around him. Eventually Heero broke down and joined in, throwing his own momentum into the mix. They spun faster and faster till they were almost about to fall over. The song ended just in time. Duo tripped up on the final notes, sending them chaotically falling. Duo couldn’t help laughing as he collided with Heero. Leaning his head against his friends shoulder. Heero stood a second, before standing up straighter, bringing Duo along with him. Duo smiled.

“I haven’t done that since I was little. It’s amazing how fast you can get going.” Duo laughed. Heero nodded. The next song was a slow song. Duo contemplated moving away from Heero, not leaning his head on the other boy’s shoulder, but he was already, so what was the difference. Heero was still standing straight, very stiffly, as Duo leant against him. Duo swayed a little, Heero standing like a post. Sighing slightly, dejectedly he began to pull away, almost at the same moment Heero’s arms snaked around him. They wound up with Duo pulling away and Heero pulling him back. Duo’s eyes widened.

“Heero?” Heero said nothing, just settled his hands comfortably around Duo’s lower back. Duo took a step forward and rested his head on Heero’s shoulder, the boy wasn’t really all that much taller then he, but it still worked. He wrapped his arms around Heero’s neck as the boy started to sway slowly like all the other couples on the dance floor. Duo smiled into Heero’s neck. Raising his head to share the expression with him. Heero’s eyes met his. They answered his smile warmly. Duo felt his lips moving of their own accord, coaxed into truth by those brilliant blue eyes.

“I really like you, you know.”

A/N: also, whoever pointed out that the time continuum of this story is messed up, you’re right. I totally left out Christmas and thanksgiving and a lot of interim time periods between the “crucial” parts of the story. I’m going to go back in and flesh those out (which is weird because I’ve already divided up chapters) I hope before summer break to have it all patted out, so if this is on your alerts list it should pop up a few more times. Hope when I finish it all it’ll be less confusing and you wont have to wonder what time of year it is.

**2**

“I really like you, you know.” Duo winced in horror as soon as the words were out of his mouth. _Shit shit shit shit_ his mind chorused. Heero froze. The two of them standing, almost embracing, so close and yet so far. Duo stared at the floor, started to pull away, but Heero’s arms held firm behind him. Duo dared a glance up. Heero’s expression wasn’t cold or angry. The other boy wasn’t drawing away from him. Instead he looked confused.

“You really like me?” Heero asked, as if needing confirmation.

“Yeah you’re a great friend, for get I said it.” Duo looked wildly around. All the other couples were still swaying, lovingly gazing at each other and whispering sweet nothings. He tried to catch Cat’s eye. Motion his friend over to save him. Someone, anyone. Oh he was so stupid to have blurted that out. One of the hands left his back, coming to redirect his vision back to Heero.

“Was that really what you meant?” Duo swallowed. _I’m Duo Maxwell, I may run I may hide but I never tell a lie_ , a phrase he had coined as a child swam to the front of his brain. He had always tried to be truthful, with holding the truth wasn’t lying though. He thought of what Helen would say.

“No.” Duo whispered, trying to look at the floor. Heero kept his head level.

“What did you mean?”

“I meant I like you.” Heero nodded slowly, carefully, as if he were afraid of moving too fast.

“You said that. Why do you like me?”

“Because you’re wonderful. I love being around you. You make me happy.” That was an easy question to answer. And it didn’t really give anything away.

“Why?”

“I don’t know. You just do. I can’t explain it. It’s a good thing right?” Duo shrugged, still trying to find a way out.

“Love is always a good thing.” Duo froze in his shifting.

“What?” His voice was flat, utterly terrified. Heero smiled.

“I said love is always a good thing.” And with that, Heero leaned down and placed a kiss on Duo’s lips. Duo felt like he was doing an amazing impression of a fish as Heero pulled away. Vaguely he registered the song had ended and Cat was clapping somewhere off to one side, but his whole world had narrowed down to Heero.

“Huh?” He said intelligently.

“Do I have to make it clearer? I really like you too.” Duo blinked as the words slowly sank in. A wide smile shone out on his face.

“No shit?” He grinned, throwing his arms enthusiastically around Heero. “Can I kiss you back?” He whispered. Heero nodded. Duo stared at him, thinking about how many times he’d contemplated this, staring at the boys face. He slowly stepped forward, leaning slightly up to kiss Heero. He drew back a few inches to stare into the boys face, Duo had never felt happier. An evil grin unfurled across his features.

“Does this mean we can dance dirty together?” Duo whispered in Heero’s ear. The other boy raised an eyebrow, but made no objection as Duo moved forward and pressed their bodies together. The change of music was well suited; why not take advantage of a perfectly good freak-dance song?

They all gathered back at the table as the dance wound down. Duo had his arm wrapped possessively around Heero’s hip and Heero’s was slung over his shoulder. Dorothy and Catherine were playing a game of chess. Catherine’s boyfriend talking animatedly with Zechs and Noin. Sally and Wufei were still nowhere to be seen.

“You two are hot.” Cat whistled once they were in hearing distance.

“I will pretend not to notice that.” Duo commented. “Childhood friends are not supposed to say things like that.”

“It’s true. I was waiting so long for you two to face up. Thank good the UST is resolved.”

“UST?” Duo echoed, confused.

“You haven’t read any of the fics I gave you have you.” Duo shook his head sheepishly.

“No.”

“Heero,” Cat addressed the other boy, “if he is to be your boyfriend you have to make sure he’s well read and can keep up with the rest of us.”

“So I’m now his keeper or something.”

“Yeah, something like that.” Cat nodded. Duo rolled his eyes. Trowa echoed his look from behind Cat in sympathy. ‘I understand how you feel’ he mouthed.

“Do I sense communication happening over my head?” Cat asked. He swiveled to pin Trowa with an accusatory eye. “It’s for his betterment you know.” Trowa shrugged. Cat sighed and shook his head, “whatever will I do with you?”

“Kiss me?” Trowa asked. Cat complied, leaning up and placing a peck on Trowa’s mouth. The taller boy wrapped his arms around Cat.

“So, are you officially a couple?” Trowa asked.

“Who’s a couple?” Relena inquired, joining the group. Her eyes drifted to Heero and Duo.

“Finally!” She blurted, then put her hands over her mouth. “Sorry, but really it took you long enough. I’m assuming he’s talking about you?”

“Yes, and Yes.” Heero answered dryly. “Anything else from the inquisition?” Heero asked.

“Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!” Hilde shouted from behind them. Duo jumped in surprise, whirling. Hilde beamed, dragging a rather tired Chris behind her. “What are we discussing?” She asked.

“Us being a couple.” Duo motioned to Heero and himself. Hilde broke out in a wide smile. She leaped forward and hugged him.

“I knew you could do it. See, all you gotta do is be yourself and speak up.” She enthused.

“Yes, but this late at night one should go home and sleep.” Chris put in. Hilde shook her head,

“Not all of us have papers to write this weekend.”

“But I do.” Chris sighed, “And much as I love you, I’d like to graduate. Nice to meet you all, hopefully I’ll see you again when I’m not about to fall down dead with exhaustion.” He kissed Hilde, “You sure you don’t need a ride home?” She shook her head no. He nodded and left with a sloppy wave.

“Seniors.” Hilde sighed, “They work em like dogs. It’s totally not fair.”

“That’s only if you’re that laid back. He’s not quite a slacker, but most people do their papers sometime other then the week before.” Zechs put in. He yawned too though, “Still, us old fogies really aught to turn in. Noin?” His girlfriend nodded. They too left.

Sally and Wufei took that time to finally make their appearance.

“Where were you guys?” Hilde asked.

“Oh, out and about. You know.” Sally said with a wink. Wufei glowered a little, but they were holding hands and there wasn’t a heck of a lot to hide.

“I’m glad you don’t look too disheveled.” Hilde teased.

“You didn’t see me earlier.” Sally riposted. Wufei gave her a pointed look. “Okay shutting up about private matters.” She said with a zipping the lip gesture. “How’re things here?” They briefly filled the other two in on what had happened and who had already left. Dorothy’s dad then appeared from seemingly out of nowhere. He was on the school board and was uncannily able to navigate school functions, even dances that were meant only for kids and specific chaperones.

“Ready to go girls?” He asked. Relena and Dorothy gave their good byes. Cat and Trowa were staying for cleanup crew, as was Hilde. Heero and Duo waved goodbye as well and went to wait for Heero’s mom at the curb.

It was very dark, eleven thirty and most of the lights out in the surrounding buildings. A streetlight was on a little up the block, but the sky was still clear. It was cold too. They sat huddled together on the curb.

“Why don’t they make these things warmer?” Duo grumbled.

“Because then you’d die when you danced in them. Here.” Heero wrapped an arm around Duo, rubbing his hands up and down over Duo’s shoulders to create friction. “Any warmer?” Duo nodded.

“A little. Thanks.” There was a moment of silence. “So, about tonight. You meant what you said. That you like me too?”

“Every word.” Heero affirmed.

“So, does this mean we’re, together? Going out?”

“If you want it to.”

“I do. Yes.”

“Well then there you go. Come on, there’s the car.” Heero stood up. “Mom’ll be happy too, she’s always thought of you as a second son.”

“I hope not, if we were brothers that’d be incest.” Duo quipped. Heero laughed,

“Believe it or not, I was worried about telling you because I thought you thought of me like family.” Heero chuckled.

“Really? I had the exact same feeling. If only we’d talked sooner. Damn, now I feel stupid.” Duo laughed self deprecatingly.

“Hey, we both were. But now that we have at least one thing figured out, let’s enjoy it.” Duo returned Heero’s smile measure for measure.

“I’m sure we will.” And they did, together.


End file.
